Immune Complex Glomerulonephritis in a Patient with Myelodysplastic Syndrome with Ring Sideroblasts Treated with Luspatercept

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of clonal myeloid disorders distinguished by dysplastic bone marrow and peripheral blood cells, ineffective hematopoiesis, and an increased risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia (AML). MDS with ring sideroblasts (MDS-RS) is a favorable outcome subtype with a lower frequency of AML transformation. The FDA recently approved luspatercept for the treatment of patients with very-low-, low-, and intermediate-risk MDS-RS who have failed to correct anemia with an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) and require two units of red blood cells over an eight-week period. This drug's pharmacology is based on the critical role of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) pathway in regulating erythropoiesis. In this case report, we describe for the first time an acute kidney injury caused by membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) in a patient with MDS-RS who was treated with luspatercept. We propose that a multi-hit hypothesis could explain the immunopathogenesis. A first unknown hit may stimulate IgA immune complex production, whereas luspatercept administration acts as a second hit, causing Smad1-5-8 phosphorylation. This intriguing case report on immune-complex-mediated proliferative glomerulonephritis following luspatercept treatment generates hypotheses and stimulates further research in this area.