Lung Transplantation for FLNA-Associated Progressive Lung Disease

Abstract

Objective: To describe a series of patients with pathogenic variants in FLNA and progressive lung disease necessitating lung transplantation.

Study design: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 6 female infants with heterozygous presumed loss-of-function pathogenic variants in FLNA whose initial presentation was early and progressive respiratory failure.

Results: Each patient received lung transplantation at an average age of 11 months (range, 5-15 months). All patients had pulmonary arterial hypertension and chronic respiratory failure requiring tracheostomy and escalating levels of ventilator support before transplantation. All 6 patients survived initial lung transplantation; however, 1 patient died after a subsequent heart-lung transplant. The remaining 5 patients are living unrestricted lives on chronic immunosuppression at most recent follow-up (range, 19 months to 11.3 years post-transplantation). However, in all patients, severe ascending aortic dilation has been observed with aortic regurgitation.

Conclusions: Respiratory failure secondary to progressive obstructive lung disease during infancy may be the presenting phenotype of FLNA-associated periventricular nodular heterotopia. We describe a cohort of patients with progressive respiratory failure related to a pathogenic variant in FLNA and present lung transplantation as a viable therapeutic option for this group of patients.

Keywords: diffuse lung disease; lung growth disorder; periventricular nodular heterotopia; pulmonary overinflation.