Intrinsic functional defects in B cells of patients with NFKB2 mutations

Abstract Mutations in the human nuclear factor-κB2 gene (NFKB2) are associated with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) or combined immunodeficiency diseases (CID), characterized by B-cell lymphopenia, hypogammaglobulinemia, and T cell dysfunction. This study investigated whether B cells with NFKB2 mutations exhibit intrinsic impairments in activation, class-switch recombination, and differentiation. We analyzed five patients from four unrelated families with CVID, each carrying a heterozygous NFKB2 mutation: P1 (C.2595_2614del, p.A867Gfs*12), P2 (C.2597G>A, p.S866N), P3 (C.2540dupT, p.R848Efs*38), and P4 and P5 (C.2570_2571insCAGCACA, p.A860Qfs*28). The patients with frameshift mutations (P1, P3, P4, and P5) exhibited truncated proteins detectable in their peripheral blood mononuclear cells, while P2 had a missense mutation. All identified mutations disrupted the processing of p100 into the active p52 form, resulting in NF-κB2 loss-of-function and IκBδ gain-of-function. Clinically, P1, P2, and P3 exhibited B-cell lymphopenia, and all five patients presented with hypogammaglobulinemia. Notably, P2 exhibited a markedly low B-cell count, associated with increased proportions of memory B and IgD-CD27- double negative B cells. In vitro experiments with naïve B cells from P1 and P4 demonstrated decreased survival, impaired activation, and reduced differentiation into CD27+IgD- cells and plasmablasts, while class switch recombination was unaffected. These findings reveal novel B cell-intrinsic functional defects in patients with NFKB2 mutations.