Fatal cytomegalovirus bronchiolitis in a patient with Nezelof's syndrome.
A 4-year-old girl who had received a fetal thymus gland by intraperitoneal transplantation 41 months previously sustained acute, fatal bronchiolitis due to culture-proven cytomegalovirus despite the fact that a specific antibody response to this organism was detected. While the thymic transplantation had increased the number of circulating T lymphocytes and had permitted immune sensitization to delayed-hypersensitivity skin test antigens, there was still an incomplete state of T lymphocyte function. In particular, isolated lymphocytes failed to respond to stimulation with phytohemagglutinin at several concentrations and, more important, the pathologic examination demonstrated a severe anatomic deficiency of lymphoid tissue associated with T lymphocyte function. The unusual infection that caused the death of this child emphasized the necessity of acquiring sufficient T lymphocyte function in immunologic reconstitution attempts.
Duke Scholars
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- Transplantation, Homologous
- Thymus Gland
- Pediatrics
- Lymphocyte Activation
- Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
- Immunity, Cellular
- Humans
- Female
- Cytomegalovirus Infections
- Child, Preschool
Citation
Published In
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Transplantation, Homologous
- Thymus Gland
- Pediatrics
- Lymphocyte Activation
- Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
- Immunity, Cellular
- Humans
- Female
- Cytomegalovirus Infections
- Child, Preschool