In paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), acquired somatic mutations in the PIG-A gene give rise to clonal populations of red blood cells unable to express proteins linked to the membrane by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. These proteins include the complement inhibitors CD55 and CD59, and this explains the hypersensitivity to complement of red cells in PNH patients, manifested by intravascular hemolysis. The factors that determine to what extent mutant clones expand have not yet been pinpointed; it has been suggested that existing PNH clones may have a conditional growth advantage depending on some factor (e.g., autoimmune) present in the marrow environment of PNH patients. Using f low cytometric analysis of granulocytes, we now have identified cells that have the PNH phenotype, at an average frequency of 22 per million (range 10-51 per million) in nine normal individuals. These rare cells were collected by f low sorting, and exons 2 and 6 of the PIG-A gene were amplified by nested PCR. We found PIG-A mutations in six cases: four missense, one frameshift, and one nonsense mutation. PNH red blood cells also were identified at a frequency of eight per million. Thus, small clones with PIG-A mutations exist commonly in normal individuals, showing clearly that PIG-A gene mutations are not sufficient for the development of PNH. Because PIG-A encodes an enzyme essential for the expression of a host of surface proteins, the PIG-A gene provides a highly sensitive system for the study of somatic mutations in hematopoietic cells.

The mutation rate (m) is a key biological feature of somatic cells that determines risk for malignant transformation, and it has been exceedingly difficult to measure in human cells. For this purpose, a potential sentinel is the X-linked PIG-A gene, because its inactivation causes lack of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked membrane proteins. We previously found that the frequency ( f ) of PIG-A mutant cells can be measured accurately by flow cytometry, even when f is very low. Here we measure both f and m by culturing B-lymphoblastoid cell lines and first eliminating preexisting PIG-A mutants by flow sorting. After expansion in culture, the frequency of new mutants is determined by flow cytometry using antibodies specific for glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked proteins (e.g., CD48, CD55, and CD59). The mutation rate is then calculated by the formula m = f/d, where d is the number of cell divisions occurring in culture. The mean m in cells from normal donors was 10.6 Â 10 À7 mutations per cell division (range 2.4 to 29.6 Â 10 À7 ). The mean m was elevated >30-fold in cells from patients with Fanconi anemia (P < 0.0001), and m varied widely in ataxia-telangiectasia with a mean 4-fold elevation (P = 0.002). In contrast, m was not significantly different from normal in cells from patients with Nijmegen breakage syndrome. Differences in m could not be attributed to variations in plating efficiency. The mutation rate in man can now be measured routinely in B-lymphoblastoid cell lines, and it is elevated in cancer predisposition syndromes. This system should be useful in evaluating cancer risk and in the design of preventive strategies. (Cancer Res 2005; 65(18): 8111-7)

The International Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) Registry (NCT01374360) was initiated to optimize patient management by collecting data regarding disease burden, progression, and clinical outcomes. Herein, we report updated baseline demographics, clinical characteristics, disease burden data, and observed trends regarding clone size in the largest cohort of Registry patients. Patients with available data as of July 2017 were stratified by glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-deficient granulocyte clone size (< 10%, ≥ 10%-< 50%, and ≥ 50%). All patients were untreated with eculizumab at baseline, defined as date of eculizumab initiation or date of Registry enrollment (if never treated with eculizumab). Outcomes assessed in the current analysis included proportions of patients with high disease activity (HDA), history of major adverse vascular events (MAVEs; including thrombotic events [TEs]), bone marrow failure (BMF), red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, and PNH-related symptoms. A total of 4439 patients were included, of whom 2701 (60.8%) had available GPI-deficient granulocyte clone size data. Among these, median clone size was 31.8% (1002 had < 10%; 526 had ≥ 10%-< 50%; 1173 had ≥ 50%). There were high proportions of patients with HDA (51.6%), history of MAVEs (18.8%), BMF (62.6%), RBC transfusion (61.3%), and impaired renal function (42.8%). All measures except RBC transfusion history significantly correlated with GPI-deficient granulocyte clone size. A large proportion of patients with GPI-deficient granulocyte clone size < 10% had hemolysis (9.7%), MAVEs (10.2%), HDA (9.1%), and/or PNH-related symptoms. Although larger GPI-deficient granulocyte clone sizes were associated with higher disease burden, a substantial proportion of patients with smaller clone sizes had history of MAVEs/TEs.