Mycobacterial coronary arteritis in a heart transplant recipient.
A case of mycobacterial vasculitis in a chronically rejected transplanted heart is described. The coronary arteries were the only vessels involved by mycobacteria, although the patient had a generalized infection. The process of chronic rejection, with persistent injury to the intimal vascular lining of a transplanted organ, may lead to defects in the endothelial cell barrier and thus facilitate infiltration of a vessel wall by acid-fast bacilli.
D001167:Arteritis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D006084:Graft Rejection; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections