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.
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001990:Bronchiolitis, Viral / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000637:transplantation; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D000914:Antibodies, Viral