Polygenic Risk Scores and HLA Class II Variants are Biomarkers of Corticosteroid Response in Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome

INTRODUCTION Nephrotic syndrome (NS), a common glomerular disease in children, is classified based on response to corticosteroid therapy as either steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS), or steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS). However, there are no current reliable predictors of therapy response at initial clinical presentation.

METHODS To evaluate predictors, we conducted genome-wide association studies, developed polygenic risk scores (PRS) for therapy response and analyzed classical HLA alleles in 1,997 children (994 discovery and 1,003 replication/validation cohorts) previously unstudied children with NS and 3,558 ancestry-matched control individuals.

RESULTS A significant association with HLA loci defined by variants in HLA-DQB1, HLA-DRB1, and HLA-DQA1 were found for SSNS (but not SRNS), along with a second immune-related SSNS locus: CLEC16A. A PRS that discriminates between SSNS and SRNS was validated in two independent cohorts. The HLA haplotype HLA- DRB1*07:01∼DQA1*02:01∼DQB1*02:02 was associated with about four times the risk of developing SSNS. A model incorporating HLA haplotype, PRS score, and age at disease onset was the best predictor of steroid responsiveness with an area under the curve of 0.68-0.70 and an overall classification accuracy of SSNS versus SRNS of 67-71%.

CONCLUSIONS Our findings confirm that SSNS, unlike SRNS, is an immune-mediated HLA-associated disorder. The PRS for therapy response and HLA haplotype can serve as biomarkers, provide a foundation for more accurate diagnoses and tailored individualized treatment.