Purpose: To explore the clinical features and immunological mechanisms of Castleman disease (CD) complicated with autoimmune diseases (AID).
Methods: We explored the prevalence and clinical manifestations of CD complicated with AID by reviewing clinical, pathological, and laboratory data of 40 CD patients retrospectively, and then explored abnormal immune mechanisms in the co-existence of the two entities by monitoring lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood.
Results: Paraneoplastic pemphigus, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, Sjogren's syndrome, myasthenia gravis, and psoriasis were found to be coexisted with CD in 9/40 (22.5%) patients with different sequence of onset. No bias in the clinical and histological type of CD was observed for the occurrence of AID. CD patients with AID were more likely to have skin and/or mucous membrane damage and pulmonary complications, and presented elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, hypergammaglobulinemia, and positive autoantibodies than those without AID (p < 0.05). Deregulated cellular and innate immune responses as indicated by decreased CD3+ T cells and increased natural killer cells were observed in peripheral blood of CD patients with AID (p < 0.05). UCD patients with AID were successfully treated with surgery and immunosuppressive therapy. MCD complicated by AID relieved with immunosuppressors, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and rituximab.
Conclusion: Systemic inflammation/immunological abnormalities and organ dysfunction were associated with the occurrence of AID in CD. Impairment of cellular and innate immunity may be a candidate etiology for the coexistence of the two entities.
Keywords: Autoimmune diseases; Castleman disease; Immunological abnormalities; Natural killer cells; T cells.