- Hsu, Amy P;
- Korzeniowska, Agnieszka;
- Aguilar, Cynthia C;
- Gu, Jingwen;
- Karlins, Eric;
- Oler, Andrew J;
- Chen, Gang;
- Reynoso, Glennys V;
- Davis, Joie;
- Chaput, Alexandria;
- Peng, Tao;
- Sun, Ling;
- Lack, Justin B;
- Bays, Derek J;
- Stewart, Ethan R;
- Waldman, Sarah E;
- Powell, Daniel A;
- Donovan, Fariba M;
- Desai, Jigar V;
- Pouladi, Nima;
- Priel, Debra A Long;
- Yamanaka, Daisuke;
- Rosenzweig, Sergio D;
- Niemela, Julie E;
- Stoddard, Jennifer;
- Freeman, Alexandra F;
- Zerbe, Christa S;
- Kuhns, Douglas B;
- Lussier, Yves A;
- Olivier, Kenneth N;
- Boucher, Richard C;
- Hickman, Heather D;
- Frelinger, Jeffrey;
- Fierer, Joshua;
- Shubitz, Lisa F;
- Leto, Thomas L;
- Thompson, George R;
- Galgiani, John N;
- Lionakis, Michail S;
- Holland, Steven M
Disseminated coccidioidomycosis (DCM) is caused by Coccidioides, pathogenic fungi endemic to the southwestern United States and Mexico. Illness occurs in approximately 30% of those infected, less than 1% of whom develop disseminated disease. To address why some individuals allow dissemination, we enrolled patients with DCM and performed whole-exome sequencing. In an exploratory set of 67 patients with DCM, 2 had haploinsufficient STAT3 mutations, and defects in β-glucan sensing and response were seen in 34 of 67 cases. Damaging CLEC7A and PLCG2 variants were associated with impaired production of β-glucan-stimulated TNF-α from PBMCs compared with healthy controls. Using ancestry-matched controls, damaging CLEC7A and PLCG2 variants were overrepresented in DCM, including CLEC7A Y238* and PLCG2 R268W. A validation cohort of 111 patients with DCM confirmed the PLCG2 R268W, CLEC7A I223S, and CLEC7A Y238* variants. Stimulation with a DECTIN-1 agonist induced DUOX1/DUOXA1-derived hydrogen peroxide [H2O2] in transfected cells. Heterozygous DUOX1 or DUOXA1 variants that impaired H2O2 production were overrepresented in discovery and validation cohorts. Patients with DCM have impaired β-glucan sensing or response affecting TNF-α and H2O2 production. Impaired Coccidioides recognition and decreased cellular response are associated with disseminated coccidioidomycosis.