Clinical Characteristics, Management, and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation of Patients With TLR8 Gain-of-Function
TLR8 GOF is an X-linked dominant disease that should be considered in both male and female patients with cytopenia and immune dysregulation. Patients with TLR8 GOF are refractory to medical management and should be considered for allogeneic HCT.
KEY FINDINGS: TLR8 GOF is an X-linked dominant disorder that should be considered in male and female patients with cytopenia, particularly severe neutropenia, lymphoproliferation with immune dysregulation, increased LGLs, and new to this cohort, red cell aplasia. Disease is refractory to medical management, and curative, allogeneic HCT should be considered early after diagnosis.
BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8) gain-of-function (GOF) somatic variants were recently identified as causing severe neutropenia, lymphoproliferation, and immune dysregulation.
DETAILS: The expanded clinical and laboratory phenotype and management of 10 patients were reported, including the original cohort of 6 male patients. The first female patient was identified with TLR8 GOF who presented during infancy with pure red cell aplasia due to a germ line TLR8 variant, and 2 new disease-causing somatic variants in male patients. Eight patients had somatic mosaicism with peripheral blood variant allele fractions of 7% to 26%, and age of disease onset of 9 months to 28 years. All patients had neutropenia, most with severe neutropenia refractory to medical therapy. Anemia and thrombocytopenia were common. Bone marrow characteristically demonstrated severe myeloid hypoplasia and activated T-cell infiltrates and/or aggregates. An increased number of large granular lymphocytes (LGLs) was identified in 5 patients. Seven patients underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). High rates of post-HCT cytopenia of unclear etiology and graft-versus-host disease were observed. Five patients are surviving at 1 to 3 years after HCT with full donor myeloid and T-cell chimerism, and resolution of disease phenotype. The 2 patients who presented during childhood and did not undergo HCT ultimately died from disease.
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Source: Arnold, D. E., Kaviany, S., Aluri, J., et al. Clinical Characteristics, Management, and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation of Patients With TLR8 Gain-of-Function. Blood Adv. 2026; 10(6): 1967-1976. Published: March 24, 2026. DOI: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016338
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