Clinical Description
Schimke immunoosseous dysplasia (SIOD) is characterized by a constellation of clinical findings that affect a variety of organ systems. Nearly all affected individuals have disproportionate short stature, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia causing hip disease, nephrotic syndrome that progresses to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), hyperpigmented macules, and immunodeficiency (primarily cellular immunodeficiency). Central nervous system vasculopathy (migraines, transient ischemic attacks, strokes), thyroid dysfunction, and cytopenias are also common. Secondary complications include hypertension, anemia, elevated lipids, recurrent infections, and osteopenia. Although not defining features of SIOD, bone marrow failure and lymphoproliferative disease have been reported [Boerkoel et al 2000, Baradaran-Heravi et al 2012b, Ramdeny et al 2021]. Based on review of the medical literature to date, more than 100 individuals have been identified with biallelic pathogenic variants in SMARCAL1. The following description of the phenotypic features associated with this condition is based on these reports.
Table 2.
Frequency of Physical, Radiographic, and Laboratory Features in Individuals with Schimke Immunoosseous Dysplasia Confirmed on Molecular Testing
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Feature | % of Persons w/Feature | Comment |
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Skeletal features
| Disproportionate short stature | ~99% | Prenatal onset (IUGR) in 70% |
Vertebral anomalies | >75% | Ovoid shaped; dorsal flattening |
Hypoplastic pelvis | 65% | |
Epiphyseal dysplasia | ~90% | |
Renal disease
| Proteinuria or nephropathy | 99% | Steroid resistant |
FSGS | 83% | |
Immune deficiency
| T cell deficiency | 80% | |
Neutropenia | ~40% | Bone marrow hypoplasia of neutrophil lineage may occur w/normal peripheral blood neutrophil counts. |
Recurrent infections | 60%-80% | |
Autoimmune disease
| Anemia | ~60% | May also be secondary to bone marrow failure |
Thrombocytopenia | 25% |
Other | Rare | Enteropathy, pericarditis |
Physical features
| Characteristic facial features | ~90% | Triangular facies; wide, depressed nasal bridge, broad nasal tip |
Hyperpigmented macules | 70% | |
Fine &/or sparse hair | 63% | |
Dental anomalies | >60% | Microdontia, hypodontia |
Corneal opacities | ~25% | |
Development
| Developmental delay | 34% | |
Academic delay | 28% | |
Vasculature
| Headaches | 47% | |
TIAs | 41% | |
Strokes | 43% | |
Endocrine
| Hypothyroidism | ~50% | |
Hematologic
| Bone marrow failure | 5%-10% | Contributes to neutropenia, anemia, & thrombocytopenia |
Lymphoproliferative
disease / Malignancy
| Lymphoma/leukemia (ALL) | <10% | |
Osseous solid tumors | Rare | |
ALL = acute lymphoblastic leukemia; FSGS = focal segmental glomerulosclerosis; IUGR = intrauterine growth restriction; TIAs = transient ischemic attacks
Disproportionate short stature. The mean age of diagnosis of disproportionate growth deficiency is two years (range: age 0-13 years) [Clewing et al 2007b]. Generally, affected individuals have a normal growth hormone axis and no response to growth hormone supplementation. Height in those who have survived to adulthood is 136 cm to 157 cm for men and 98.5 cm to 143 cm for women.
Short stature is not a result of renal failure. Comparison of the anthropometric measurements of persons with SIOD to persons with non-SIOD chronic kidney disease found that in nearly all parameters, persons with SIOD differed significantly from those with non-SIOD chronic renal disease. The most marked difference is that in non-SIOD chronic kidney disease, the median leg length is significantly more reduced than trunk length, while in persons with SIOD, the reduction in trunk length was significantly more than that of leg length. Therefore, a sitting height / leg length ratio of lower than 0.83 is suggestive of SIOD in persons with chronic kidney disease [Lücke et al 2006a].
Skeletal features. Vertebrae are ovoid in more than 75% of individuals with dorsal flattening. Endplate irregularities and narrowed vertebral spaces can be seen. Short neck and trunk with lumbar lordosis are common and become more evident with age. Thoracic kyphosis and scoliosis have also been reported.
Hypoplastic pelvis and epiphyseal dysplasia leads to degenerative hip disease and chronic joint pain. Surgical intervention may be necessary, and treatment of hematopoietic and renal anomalies has not been shown to alter bony disease. The shoulder and other large joints are relatively spared.
Less frequent skeletal findings include a widened sella turcica and osteopenia. Individuals with SIOD and osteopenia are at risk for fractures. Systemic corticosteroids should be used with caution.
Renal disease. Nephropathy usually develops before age 12 years and progresses to ESRD within the subsequent one to 11 years. Both early onset (by age 5 years) and juvenile onset (typically after age 10 years) have been reported [Lipska-Ziętkiewicz et al 2017]. Usually, the diagnosis of nephropathy is made concurrent with or within five years following the diagnosis of growth deficiency. Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is the predominant renal pathology in individuals with SIOD.
Immune deficiency. T cell deficiency is reported in approximately 80% of affected individuals. Those T cells that are present are predominantly of a memory (CD45R0+) rather than a naïve (CD45RA+) surface phenotype, consistent with reduced production of T cells by the thymus [Sanyal et al 2015]. The T cell deficiency is associated with a lack of interleukin-7 (IL-7) receptor alpha expression on the T cells of individuals with SIOD and their poor response to recombinant IL-7 [Sanyal et al 2015]. The IL-7 receptor is critical for T cell development and has been previously implicated in severe combined immunodeficiency [Puel et al 1998, Roifman et al 2000]. The B cell count is usually normal to slightly elevated. Hypogammaglobulinemia and poor antibody responses to immunization have been reported, and affected individuals may require replacement immunoglobulin therapy. Immunization with live vaccines is contraindicated in individuals with T cell immunodeficiency.
Neutropenia is also reported in 38% of individuals with SIOD and is likely a reflection of relative hypoplasia of the neutrophil lineage in the bone marrow [Bertaina et al 2022]. Most individuals with neutropenia have concurrent autoimmune thrombocytopenia, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, or pancytopenia from bone marrow failure [Boerkoel et al 2000, Clewing et al 2007a].
Immunodeficiency increases the risk of opportunistic infections such as Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. More than half of individuals with SIOD have recurrent infections with various bacteria, viruses (e.g., herpes simplex virus, varicella-zoster virus, cytomegalovirus), and fungi (e.g., oral and/or cutaneous candida) [Lipska-Ziętkiewicz et al 2017]. Several individuals have developed viral cutaneous papillomas refractory to multiple antivirals that have negatively affected quality of life. Severe bacterial, viral, and/or fungal infection is a common cause of death.
Autoimmune disease. About 20% of individuals with SIOD have features of autoimmune disease. These manifestations include immune thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia, Evans syndrome (a combination of hemolytic anemia and immune thrombocytopenia), enteropathy, and pericarditis with anti-cardiolipin antibodies [Lipska-Ziętkiewicz et al 2017].
In one affected individual with thrombocytopenia, the autoimmune features resolved spontaneously; in one they resolved after steroid and intravenous immunoglobulin treatments, and in one they cleared after splenectomy. One individual who developed immune thrombocytopenia two years after renal transplantation was not responsive to intravenous immunoglobulin or systemic corticosteroids and required plasmapheresis and thrombopoietin-receptor agonist therapy [Grenda et al 2016]. All other affected individuals, excepting one with Evans syndrome, were successfully treated with immunosuppressive therapy such as steroids, cyclophosphamide, or intravenous immunoglobulin.
Anemia does not often respond to supplementation with erythropoietin or renal transplantation. However, it is possible that erythropoietin has a protective effect on the endothelia. A few individuals have been transfusion dependent due to anemia or thrombocytopenia. The individual with Evans syndrome was resistant to treatment with steroids, cyclosporin A, and rituximab [Zieg et al 2011].
A few individuals with SIOD have enteropathy. In most of these individuals, the enteropathy results from infection (e.g., Helicobacter pylori); however, one individual without evidence of infection had gastrointestinal villous atrophy that improved with corticosteroid therapy [Kaitila et al 1998].
Physical features. Characteristic features include triangular facies, wide, depressed nasal bridge with a broad nasal tip, short neck, short trunk, and protruding abdomen. Most affected individuals have hyperpigmented macules on the trunk and occasionally on the extremities, neck, and face. Fine and/or sparse hair is present following the transition from soft newborn hair; 66% of individuals have had microdontia, hypodontia, and/or malformed deciduous and permanent molars [Morimoto et al 2012a]; corneal opacities are also reported.
Development. Most individuals with SIOD have normal intellectual and neurologic development until the onset of cerebral ischemic events. A few have developmental delay – in most cases likely a consequence of chronic illness and/or early recurrent cerebral ischemic events.
Central nervous system (CNS) symptoms, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. Nearly half of affected individuals have severe migraine-like headaches, transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), or strokes [Kilic et al 2005]. Reported migraine-like headaches had no aura and included throbbing, photophobia, nausea, and vomiting. The TIAs are usually focal and can present as hemiplegia, dysarthria, and aphasia. Some affected individuals also have heat intolerance and develop CNS symptoms (e.g., headache, aphasia) during hot weather [Baradaran-Heravi et al 2012a]. Generally, those with TIAs or strokes have diffuse, progressive cerebral arteriosclerosis, whereas those with only migraine-like headaches do not. Frequently the cerebral ischemic events are precipitated by hypertension. The onset of chronic hypertension, though variable, is often within two years of diagnosis in early-onset disease.
The cause of the severe migraine-like headaches is unknown. Two case reports describe individuals presenting with severe headaches progressing to hemiplegia, aphasia, and seizures in whom brain imaging demonstrated reversible vasoconstriction and diminished cerebral perfusion [Severino et al 2018, Haffner et al 2019]. Their presentation, consistent with reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome, describes a new mechanism for headaches, TIAs, and strokes in individuals with SIOD.
Half of individuals with SIOD have symptoms suggestive of atherosclerosis (e.g., hypertension, cerebral ischemia, renal occlusive disease). Vascular changes observed on postmortem tissue from three individuals included focal intimal lipid deposition, focal myointimal proliferation, macrophage invasion, foam cells, fibrous transformation, and calcium deposits [Spranger et al 1991, Lücke et al 2004, Clewing et al 2007a]. Moyamoya disease has also been described in SIOD-associated CNS disease. The pulmonary and systemic hypertension that persisted despite renal transplantation described by Lücke et al [2004] could be explained by myointimal hyperplasia [Clewing et al 2007a].
Hypothyroidism. One third of affected individuals have subclinical hypothyroidism that persists after renal transplantation. The concentration of thyroid-stimulating hormone is increased and free, and total T3 and T4 concentrations are reduced.
Malignancy. Individuals with SIOD are at increased risk for hematologic malignancies including both non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia. There is one reported [Baradaran-Heravi et al 2012b] and one unpublished instance of osteosarcoma as well as several unpublished instances of solid organ malignancies. A diagnosis of undifferentiated sinus carcinoma has also been reported in one individual with SIOD [Collins et al 2018]. Individuals who have received renal transplants are also at risk for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), although the risk of PTLD is not definitively higher when compared to all individuals following renal transplant. No definitive mechanism has been reported, but the SMARCAL1 protein product has been shown to have a role in hypersensitivity to genotoxic agents in vivo [Baradaran-Heravi et al 2012b].
Prognosis. SIOD varies in severity, ranging from prenatal growth deficiency with death in the first few years of life to a slowly progressive course with survival into adulthood if ESRD is treated with renal dialysis and/or renal transplantation. Severity and age of onset of symptoms do not, however, invariably predict survival; a few individuals have survived beyond age 20 years despite having relatively severe early-onset disease [Lou et al 2002, Lücke et al 2004].
Most affected individuals develop other symptoms within one to five years of the diagnosis of growth deficiency. Those with severe symptoms usually die within four to eight years. The mean age of death is 11 years. Causes of death include infection (23%), stroke (13%), pulmonary hypertension and congestive heart failure (13%), renal failure (11%), complications of organ transplantation (9%), lymphoproliferative disease (4%), gastrointestinal complications (4%), respiratory failure (4%), bone marrow failure (2%), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (2%), pancreatitis (2%), and other causes not reported (13%).
Among those who have survived beyond puberty, it is unknown if any individuals with SIOD have reproduced. Women develop menses, although the menstrual cycle is usually irregular. Men develop secondary sexual characteristics, but histopathologic examination of the testes has identified azoospermia [Clewing et al 2007a].