Autoimmunity Including Intestinal Behçet Disease Bearing the KRAS Mutation in Lymphocytes: A Case Report.

Abstract

We experienced the case of a 3-year-old male with a very rare combination of autoimmunity, including immune thrombocytopenia, recurrent Henoch-Schönlein purpura and intestinal Behçet disease. Exome sequencing of the patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells identified a KRAS G13C mutation. Interestingly, the KRAS G13C mutation was observed in T and B lymphocytes, as well as natural killer cells, but not granulocytes. Our case was completely phenotypically different from RASopathies and did not meet the criteria for Ras-associated lymphoproliferative disease or juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia. This is the first reported case in which the KRAS mutation existed only in the lymphoid lineage. Based on the findings of our case and the current literature, it is clear that the RAS mutation in lymphoid cells is tightly linked with various autoimmune symptoms. The presence of the RAS mutation in lymphocytes should be reconsidered as a pathogenesis in cases of autoimmunity.