Gestational alloimmune liver disease has emerged as the major cause of antenatal liver injury and failure. It usually manifests as neonatal liver failure with hepatic and extrahepatic iron overload, a clinical presentation called neonatal hemochromatosis. We report on a newborn in whom fetal hepatomegaly was detected during pregnancy and who presented at birth with liver cirrhosis and mild liver dysfunction. Liver biopsy showed the absence of iron overload but strong immunostaining of hepatocytes for the C5b-9 complex, the terminal complement cascade neoantigen occurring specifically during complement activation by the immunoglobulin G-mediated classic pathway, which established the alloimmune nature of the hepatocyte injury. The infant survived with no specific therapy, and follow-up until 36 months showed progressive normalization of all liver parameters. This case report expands the recognized clinical spectrum of congenital alloimmune liver disease to include neonatal liver disease and cirrhosis, even in the absence of siderosis. Such a diagnosis is of utmost importance regarding the necessity for immunotherapy in further pregnancies to avoid recurrence of alloimmune injury.
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April 2012
Case Report|
April 01 2012
Neonatal Liver Cirrhosis Without Iron Overload Caused by Gestational Alloimmune Liver Disease
Francois-Guillaume Debray, MD;
Departments of aMedical Genetics and
Address correspondence to François-Guillaume Debray, MD, PhD, Metabolic Unit, Department of Medical Genetics, CHU & University of Liège, Domaine Universitaire du Sart-Tilman Bât B35, B-4000 Liège, Belgium. E-mail: fg.debray@chu.ulg.ac.be
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Virginie de Halleux, MD;
Virginie de Halleux, MD
Departments of bPediatrics and
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Ornella Guidi, MD;
Ornella Guidi, MD
Departments of bPediatrics and
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Nancy Detrembleur, MD;
Nancy Detrembleur, MD
cPathology, CHU & University of Liège, Liège, Belgium;
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Stéphanie Gaillez, MD;
Stéphanie Gaillez, MD
Departments of aMedical Genetics and
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Léon Rausin, MD;
Léon Rausin, MD
dMedical Imaging, CHR Citadelle, Liège, Belgium;
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Philippe Goyens, MD;
Philippe Goyens, MD
eDepartment of Pediatrics, HUDERF, Brussels, Belgium; and
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Xiaomin Pan, MD;
Xiaomin Pan, MD
fDepartment of Pediatrics, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
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Peter F. Whitington, MD
Peter F. Whitington, MD
fDepartment of Pediatrics, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
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Address correspondence to François-Guillaume Debray, MD, PhD, Metabolic Unit, Department of Medical Genetics, CHU & University of Liège, Domaine Universitaire du Sart-Tilman Bât B35, B-4000 Liège, Belgium. E-mail: fg.debray@chu.ulg.ac.be
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The authors have indicated that they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.
Pediatrics (2012) 129 (4): e1076–e1079.
Article history
Accepted:
November 02 2011
Citation
Francois-Guillaume Debray, Virginie de Halleux, Ornella Guidi, Nancy Detrembleur, Stéphanie Gaillez, Léon Rausin, Philippe Goyens, Xiaomin Pan, Peter F. Whitington; Neonatal Liver Cirrhosis Without Iron Overload Caused by Gestational Alloimmune Liver Disease. Pediatrics April 2012; 129 (4): e1076–e1079. 10.1542/peds.2011-0568
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