IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), formerly known as IgG4-related systemic disease, is a chronic inflammatory condition characterized by tissue infiltration with lymphocytes and IgG4-secreting plasma cells, various degrees of fibrosis (scarring) and a usually prompt response to oral steroids. In approximately 51–70% of people with this disease, serum IgG4 concentrations are elevated during an acute phase.[1][2][3]
It is a relapsing–remitting disease associated with a tendency to mass forming, tissue-destructive lesions in multiple sites, with a characteristic histopathological appearance in whichever site is involved. Inflammation and the deposition of connective tissue in affected anatomical sites can lead to organ dysfunction, organ failure, or even death if not treated.[4]
Early detection is important to avoid organ damage and potentially serious complications.[5] Treatment is recommended in all symptomatic cases and also in asymptomatic cases involving certain anatomical sites.[4][6]
IgG4-related disease has been described as an indolent condition. Although possibly based on opinion rather than on objective assessments, symptoms, if any, are commonly described as mild in the medical literature.[citation needed] This can be in spite of considerable underlying organ destruction. People are often described as being generally well at the time of diagnosis, although some may give a history of weight loss.
Pain is generally not a feature of the inflammation. However it may occur as a secondary effect, for example due to either obstruction or compression.
Often diagnosis is made due to the presence of painless swellings or mass lesions, or due to complications of masses, e.g. jaundice due to involvement of the pancreas, biliary tree or liver. Symptoms are commonly attributed to other conditions and other diagnoses may have been made years before diagnosis, e.g. urinary symptoms in men attributed to common prostate conditions. Lesions may also be detected incidentally on radiological images, but can be easily misdiagnosed as malignancies.[citation needed]
IgG4-RD can involve one or multiple sites in the body. With multiorgan involvement, the sites involved can be affected at the same time (synchronously) or at different unrelated periods (metachronously).
Type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis, lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis, 'chronic pancreatitis with diffuse irregular narrowing of the main pancreatic duct'[41]
Diagnosis requires tissue biopsy of an affected organ with characteristic histological findings. Serum immunoglobulin G4 is often elevated but this is not always the case.[citation needed]
"Storiform" is commonly referred to as meaning 'having a cartwheel pattern', but its literal meaning is the appearance of 'a woven mat [Latin: storea] (of rush or straw)'.
In an article from 1977, histological research into 349 cases of Küttner's tumor (now known as 'IgG4-related sialadenitis') identified four distinct stages of the fibroinflammatory process:[61]
Stage 1: Focal periductal (around the salivary ducts) infiltration of lymphocytes
Stage 2: Diffuse infiltration of lymphocytes and severe periductal fibrosis (scarring around the salivary ducts)
Stage 3: Prominent infiltration of lymphocytes, atrophy of parenchyma (i.e. loss of functional areas due to shrinkage), and periductal sclerosis (scarring resulting in hardening around the salivary ducts)
Stage 4: Marked loss of and sclerosis (hardening) of the parenchyma (functional area) - similar to the process involved in cirrhosis where there is shrinkage and loss of functional areas of the liver
This may reflect the inflammatory process and development of fibrosis that occurs in other organs involved in IgG4-RD.
The goal of treatment is the induction and maintenance of remission so as to prevent progression of fibrosis and organ destruction in affected organ(s).
An international panel of experts have developed recommendations for the management of IgG4-RD.[4][6] They concluded that in all cases of symptomatic, active IgG4-RD that treatment is required. Some cases with asymptomatic IgG4-RD also require treatment, as some organs tend to not cause symptoms until the late stages of disease. Urgent treatment is advised with certain organ manifestations, such as aortitis, retroperitoneal fibrosis, proximal biliary strictures, tubulointerstitial nephritis, pachymeningitis, pancreatic enlargement and pericarditis.
In untreated patients with active disease, the recommended first-line agent for induction of remission is glucocorticoids unless contraindications exist. Glucocorticoids characteristically result in a rapid and often dramatic improvement in clinical features and often a resolution of radiographic features. However, where advanced fibrotic lesions have resulted in irreversible damage, the response to glucocorticoids and other current treatment options may be poor or even absent.
Although not validated yet in clinical trials, the common induction regime is prednisolone 30–40 mg per day for 2–4 weeks, then gradually tapered over 3 to 6 months. Recurrences during or after tapering of glucocorticoids are frequent however. Steroid-sparing immunosuppressive agents might be considered, depending on local availability of these drugs, for use in combination with glucocorticoids from the start of treatment in order to reduce the side-effects of prolonged glucocorticoid usage. Steroid-sparing agents that have been used include rituximab, azathioprine, methotrexate, and cyclophosphamide, although trials are needed to ascertain the effectiveness of each drug in IgG4-RD.
Following a successful induction of remission, maintenance therapy might be given in some cases, for example when there is a high risk of relapse or in patients with organ-threatening manifestations. Common maintenancy therapy is prednisolone 2.5–5 mg per day, or use of a steroid-sparing agent instead.
Relapses are common, and a previous history of relapse appears to be a strong predictor of future relapse. When relapse occurs while off therapy and there has been a prolonged disease remission following initial glucocorticoid induction, then the relapse can usually be managed successfully with a re-induction strategy using glucocorticoids. Introducing a steroid-sparing agent might also need to be considered for relapses; however, none has been tested in prospective, controlled studies, and evidence for their efficacy beyond that offered by concomitant glucocorticoid therapy is scarce.[5]
In one retrospective cohort study, baseline concentrations of serum IgG4, IgE and blood eosinophils were found to be independently predictive of relapse risk following treatment with rituximab with or without glucocorticoids; the higher the baseline values, the greater the relapse risk and the shorter the time to relapse.[62]
When organ involvement causes local mechanical problems, further organ-specific interventions may be necessary. For example, when a tumefactive lesion causes obstruction of the bile duct, it may be necessary to insert a biliary stent to allow the bile to drain freely.
Similarly, ureteral or vascular stents, surgical resection or radiotherapy may be considered for various different presenting problems.
Research is also under way to evaluate the effect and safety of plasmablast-directed therapy with a monoclonal antibody (XmAb5871) which inhibits B-cell function without depleting these immune cells.[63][64] XmAb5871 targets CD19 with its variable domain and has an Fc domain that has increased affinity to FcγRIIb.[65]
As recognition of IgG4-RD is relatively recent, there are limited studies on its epidemiology. It is therefore difficult to make an accurate estimation of prevalence. Furthermore, age of onset is almost impossible to estimate; age at diagnosis is frequently misused as the age of onset.
A 2011 study estimated the incidence of IgG4-RD in Japan at 2.8–10.8/million population, with a median age of onset of 58 years.[66]
However, some experts at the international symposium did express reservations about naming the disease after IgG4, as its role in pathogenesis is questionable and the use of serum IgG4 concentrations as a biomarker is unreliable.[2]
An expanded term, 'Immunoglobulin G4-related disease', has sometimes been used also.[67] However, this term was never referenced in the 2012 recommendations for nomenclature,[2] and its use would appear to be erroneous.
↑ 2.02.12.22.32.42.52.6
John H. Stone; Arezou Khosroshahi; Vikram Deshpande; John K. C. Chan; J. Godfrey Heathcote; Rob Aalberse; Atsushi Azumi; Donald B. Bloch; William R. Brugge; Mollie N. Carruthers; Wah Cheuk; Lynn Cornell; Carlos Fernandez-Del Castillo; Judith A. Ferry; David Forcione; Günter Klöppe; Daniel L. Hamilos; Terumi Kamisawa; Satomi Kasashima; Shigeyuki Kawa; Mitsuhiro Kawano; Yasufumi Masaki; Kenji Notohara; Kazuichi Okazaki; Ji Kon Ryu; Takako Saeki; Dushyant Sahani; Yasuharu Sato; Thomas Smyrk; James R. Stone; Masayuki Takahira; Hisanori Umehara; George Webster; Motohisa Yamamoto; Eunhee Yi; Tadashi Yoshino; Giuseppe Zamboni; Yoh Zen; Suresh Chari (October 2012). "Recommendations for the nomenclature of IgG4-related disease and its individual organ system manifestations". Arthritis & Rheumatism. 64 (10): 3061–3067. doi:10.1002/art.34593. PMC5963880. PMID22736240.
↑ 3.03.13.23.33.43.53.6Vikram Deshpande; Yoh Zen; John KC Chan; Eunhee E Yi; Yasuharu Sato; Tadashi Yoshino; Günter Klöppe; J Godfrey Heathcote; Arezou Khosroshahi; Judith A Ferry; Rob C Aalberse; Donald B Bloch; William R Brugge; Adrian C Bateman; Mollie N Carruthers; Suresh T Chari; Wah Cheuk; Lynn D Cornell; Carlos Fernandez-Del Castillo; David G Forcione; Daniel L Hamilos; Terumi Kamisawa; Satomi Kasashima; Shigeyuki Kawa; Mitsuhiro Kawano; Gregory Y Lauwers; Yasufumi Masaki; Yasuni Nakanuma; Kenji Notohara; Kazuichi Okazaki; Ji Kon Ryu; Takako Saeki; Dushyant V Sahani; Thomas C Smyrk; James R Stone; Masayuki Takahira; George J Webster; Motohisa Yamamoto; Giuseppe Zamboni; Hisanori Umehara; John H Stone (18 May 2012). "Consensus statement on the pathology of IgG4-related disease". Modern Pathology. 25 (9): 1181–1192. doi:10.1038/modpathol.2012.72. PMID22596100. S2CID7677776. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
↑ 4.04.14.2Arezou Khosroshahi; Zachary S. Wallace; Jayne Littlejohn Crowe; Takashi Akamizu; Atsushi Azumi; Mollie N. Carruthers; Suresh T. Chari; Emanuel Della-Torre; Luca Frulloni; Hiroshi Goto; Phillip A. Hart; Terumi Kamisawa; Shigeyuki Kawa; Mitsuhiro Kawano; Myung-Hwan Kim; Yuzo Kodama; Kensuke Kubota; Markus M Lerch; Matthias Löhr; Yasufumi Masaki; Shoko Matsui; Tsuneyo Mimori; Seiji Nakamura; Takahiro Nakazawa; Hirotaka Ohara; Kazuichi Okazaki; Jay H. Ryu; Takako Saeki; Nicolas Schleinitz; Akira Shimatsu; Tooru Shimosegawa; Hiroki Takahashi; Masayuki Takahira; Atsushi Tanaka; Mark Topazian; Hisanori Umehara; George J. Webster; Thomas E. Witzig; Motohisa Yamamoto; Wen Zhang; Tsutomu Chiba; John H. Stone (July 2015). "International Consensus Guidance Statement on the Management and Treatment of IgG4-Related Disease". Arthritis & Rheumatology. 67 (7): 1688–1699. doi:10.1002/art.39132. PMID25809420. S2CID39750214. Archived from the original on 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
↑Takahira, Masayuki; Azumi, Atsushi (21 November 2013). "Chapter 12: Ophthalmology". In Hisanori Umehara; Kazuichi Okazaki; John H. Stone; Shigeyuki Kawa; Mitsuhiro Kawano (eds.). IgG4-Related Disease. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 77–84. doi:10.1007/978-4-431-54228-5. ISBN978-4-431-54227-8. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
↑ 28.028.1Yassaman Raissian; Samih H. Nasr; Christopher P. Larsen; Robert B. Colvin; Thomas C. Smyrk; Naoki Takahashi; Ami Bhalodia; Aliyah R. Sohani; Lizhi Zhang; Suresh Chari; Sanjeev Sethi; Mary E. Fidler; Lynn D. Cornell (July 2011). "Diagnosis of IgG4-Related Tubulointerstitial Nephritis". Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 22 (7): 1343–1352. doi:10.1681/ASN.2011010062. PMC3137582. PMID21719792. Archived from the original on 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
↑
Wah Cheuk; Fiona K Y Tam; Alice N H Chan; Ivy S C Luk; Anthony P W Yuen; Wai-Kong Chan; Terry C W Hung; John K C Chan (November 2010). "Idiopathic cervical fibrosis--a new member of IgG4-related sclerosing diseases: report of 4 cases, 1 complicated by composite lymphoma". The American Journal of Surgical Pathology. 34 (11): 1678–1685. doi:10.1097/PAS.0b013e3181f12c85. PMID20871392. S2CID364195.
↑
Shyamal H. Mehta; Jeffrey A. Switzer; Paul Biddinger; Amyn M. Rojiani (11 February 2014). "IgG4-related leptomeningitis: a reversible cause of rapidly progressive cognitive decline". Neurology. 82 (6): 540–542. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000000100. PMID24384648. S2CID207106461.
↑
Jin Hee Kim; Jae Ho Byun; Seung Soo Lee; Hyoung Jung Kim; Moon-Gyu Lee (January 2013). "Atypical Manifestations of IgG4-Related Sclerosing Disease in the Abdomen: Imaging Findings and Pathologic Correlations". American Journal of Roentgenology. 200 (1): 102–111. doi:10.2214/AJR.12.8783. PMID23255748.
↑
Miroslav Sekulic; Simona Pichler Sekulic; Saeid Movahedi-Lankarani (4 May 2016). "IgG4-related Disease of the Ovary: A First Description". International Journal of Gynecological Pathology. 36 (2): 190–194. doi:10.1097/PGP.0000000000000293. PMID27149005.
↑
Sun A. Kim; Sang-Ryung Lee; Jooryung Huh; Steven S. Shen; Jae Y. Ro (August 2011). "IgG4-associated inflammatory pseudotumor of ureter: clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 3 cases". Human Pathology. 42 (8): 1178–1184. doi:10.1016/j.humpath.2010.03.011. PMID21334715.
↑
Takao Taniguchi; Hisato Kobayashi; Shouichi Fukui; Keiji Ogura; Tatuyoshi Saiga; Motozumi Okamoto (September 2006). "A case of multifocal fibrosclerosis involving posterior mediastinal fibrosis, retroperitoneal fibrosis, and a left seminal vesicle with elevated serum IgG4". Human Pathology. 37 (9): 1237–1239. doi:10.1016/j.humpath.2006.03.021. PMID16938531.
↑
Gerhard Seifert; Karl Donath (March 1977). "Zur Pathogenese des Küttner-Tumors der Submandibularis - Analyse von 347 Fällen mit chronischer Sialadenitis der Submandibularis" [On the pathogenesis of the Küttner tumor of the submandibular gland - Analysis of 349 cases with chronic sialadenitis of the submandibular (author's translation)]. HNO (in Deutsch). 25 (3): 81–92. PMID856776.