Abnormal length of cilia as a possible cause of defective mucociliary clearance.
A 12-year-old girl with obstructive lung disease was examined with respect to the ultrastructure of her nasal mucociliate epithelium. She had the characteristics of the immotile-cilia syndrome: chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, and bronchitis, a severely decreased mucociliary clearance of the lungs, and nasal polyps. The nasal cilia showed a normal cross-sectional appearance but were found to have twice the normal length: 12 micron rather than 6 micron. We conclude that the patient represents a new subgroup of the immotile-cilia syndrome and that her cilia are unable to perform their normal tasks.
D001991:Bronchitis / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002923:Cilia / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002925:Ciliary Motility Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D004848:Epithelium / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005005:Ethmoid Sinus; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008443:Maxillary Sinus; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009298:Nasal Polyps / Q000473:pathology; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000473:pathology