Safa Najidh

All Publications

• Improved Sézary cell detection and novel insights into immunophenotypic and molecular heterogeneity in Sézary syndrome. Blood Najidh, S., Tensen, C. P., van der Sluijs-Gelling, A. J., Teodosio, C., Cats, D., Mei, H., Kuipers, T. B., Out-Luijting, J. J., Zoutman, W. H., van Hall, T., Orfao, A., Almeida, J., van Dongen, J. J., Vermeer, M. H. 2021; 138 (24): 2539-2554

  Abstract

  Sézary syndrome (SS) is an aggressive leukemic form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with neoplastic CD4+ T cells present in skin, lymph nodes, and blood. Despite advances in therapy, prognosis remains poor, with a 5-year overall survival of 30%. The immunophenotype of Sézary cells is diverse, which hampers efficient diagnosis, sensitive disease monitoring, and accurate assessment of treatment response. Comprehensive immunophenotypic profiling of Sézary cells with an in-depth analysis of maturation and functional subsets has not been performed thus far. We immunophenotypically profiled 24 patients with SS using standardized and sensitive EuroFlow-based multiparameter flow cytometry. We accurately identified and quantified Sézary cells in blood and performed an in-depth assessment of their phenotypic characteristics in comparison with their normal counterparts in the blood CD4+ T-cell compartment. We observed inter- and intrapatient heterogeneity and phenotypic changes over time. Sézary cells exhibited phenotypes corresponding with classical and nonclassical T helper subsets with different maturation phenotypes. We combined multiparameter flow cytometry analyses with fluorescence-activated cell sorting and performed RNA sequencing studies on purified subsets of malignant Sézary cells and normal CD4+ T cells of the same patients. We confirmed pure monoclonality in Sézary subsets, compared transcriptomes of phenotypically distinct Sézary subsets, and identified novel downregulated genes, most remarkably THEMIS and LAIR1, which discriminate Sézary cells from normal residual CD4+ T cells. Together, these findings further unravel the heterogeneity of Sézary cell subpopulations within and between patients. These new data will support improved blood staging and more accurate disease monitoring.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood.2021012286

  View details for PubMedID 34314480

• PD-1 Overexpression in Sézary Syndrome Is Epigenetically Regulated. The Journal of investigative dermatology Najidh, S., Zoutman, W. H., Schrader, A. M., Willemze, R., Tensen, C. P., Vermeer, M. H. 2023; 143 (12): 2538-2541.e7

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jid.2023.03.1687

  View details for PubMedID 37270066

• Machine Learning-Based Survival Analysis Reveals Prognostic Clinical and Genetic Insights for Patients with Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma Schreidah, C. M., DeStephano, D. M., Pan, S. S., Wang, S., Shen, H., Ta, C. N., Reynolds, G., Fahmy, L. M., Gordon, E. R., Adeuyan, O., Kwinta, B. D., Stonesifer, C. J., Chan, W. H., Choi, J., Duvic, M., Gallardo, F., Girardi, M., Guitart, J., Kim, Y. H., Khodadoust, M. S., Najidh, S., Ni, X., Pujol, R. M., Tensen, C. P., Vermeer, M. H., Whittaker, S., Tatonetti, N. P., Chase, H. S., Pe'er, I., Geskin, L. J. AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY. 2023

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2023-190775

  View details for Web of Science ID 001159306706186

• Elucidating genetic factors of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma staging and disease severity through machine learning Schreidah, C. M., Reynolds, G., Shen, H., Fahmy, L. M., Choi, J., Duvic, M., Gallardo, F., Girardi, M., Guitart, J., Kim, Y. H., Khodadoust, M., Najidh, S., Ni, X., Pujol, R. M., Tensen, C. P., Vermeer, M. H., Whittaker, S., Tatonetti, N. P., Chase, H. S., Pe'er, I., Geskin, L. J. ELSEVIER SCI LTD. 2023: S15

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.113022

  View details for Web of Science ID 001077487800035

• Genomic abnormalities involving class I HLA are common in advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma Kwang, A., Duran, G., Fernandez-Pol, S., Li, S., Najidh, S., Torres, A., Herrera, M., Wang, E., Kurtz, D., Kim, Y. H., Khodadoust, M. ELSEVIER SCI LTD. 2023: S14

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.113019

  View details for Web of Science ID 001077487800032

• Molecular advances in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Seminars in cutaneous medicine and surgery Bastidas Torres, A. N., Najidh, S., Tensen, C. P., Vermeer, M. H. 2018; 37 (1): 81-86

  Abstract

  Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a group of malignancies derived from skin-homing T cells. Mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sézary syndrome (SS) are the most common CTCL variants. In recent years, the genetic landscape of SS/MF has been characterized using genome-wide nextgeneration sequencing approaches. These studies have revealed that genes subjected to oncogenic mutations take part in cell cycle regulation, chromatin modification, Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription protein (STAT) signaling, T-cell receptor (TCR)/ nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling, and microtubule associated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, which suggests that deregulation of these cellular processes underlies lymphomagenesis. These studies provide the groundwork for functional and clinical studies that will lead to better risk assessment and more effective therapeutic approach in CTCL patients.

  View details for DOI 10.12788/j.sder.2018.007

  View details for PubMedID 29719024