title: Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome.
abstract: Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome arises early in childhood in people who inherit mutations in genes that mediate lymphocyte apoptosis, or programmed cell death. In the immune system, antigen-induced lymphocyte apoptosis maintains immune homeostasis by limiting lymphocyte accumulation and minimizing reactions against self-antigens. In autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome, defective lymphocyte apoptosis manifests as chronic, nonmalignant adenopathy and splenomegaly; the expansion of an unusual population of CD4-CD8- T cells; and the development of autoimmune disease. Most cases of autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome involve heterozygous mutations in the lymphocyte surface protein Fas (CD95, Apo1) that impair a major apoptotic pathway. Prospective evaluations of patients and their families have revealed an ever-expanding spectrum of autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome and its major complications.
authors.affiliation: Immunologic Diseases Section, Laboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. sneller@nih.gov
authors.forename: Michael C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Sneller
authors.forename: Janet K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Dale
authors.forename: Stephen E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Straus
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008232:Lymphoproliferative Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D013577:Syndrome