Decreased sialylation of IgA1 O-glycans associated with pneumococcal hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in children is usually caused by Shiga-like toxin-producing Escherichia coli, but approximately 5% of cases are caused by invasive pneumococcal infection (P-HUS). Reported herein is the case of a 9-month-old HUS patient with pneumococcal meningitis who needed hemodialysis for 12 days. Decreased sialylation was characterized in both transferrin N-glycans and IgA1 O-glycans, analyzed in the acute phase on mass spectrometry, consistent with S. pneumonia-produced sialidases hydrolyzing both α2,3- and α2,6-linked sialic acids. The method will complement the T-antigen activation test and help to understand the molecular pathology related to P-HUS.