Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0021051 (immunodeficiency)
 71,517 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Pituitary dwarf mutants of the Snell-Bagg and Ames mouse strains develop severe immunodeficiency of the thymus-dependent system which frequently leads to a fatal wasting syndrome. This immunodeficiency is a consequence of defective pituitary influences which will cause 1) an inadequate production of immunocompetent cells due to a central developmental defect primarily affecting the thymus and 2) the inability of immunocompetent cells to undergo a rapid and efficient antigen-induced proliferation and differentiation into antibody-forming cells. The relevance of the dwarf mouse model to a possible association between human immunodeficiency and endocrine disease is briefly discussed.
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PMID:The pituitary dwarf mouse: a model for study of endocrine immunodeficiency disease. 16 85

The occurrence of T system immunodeficiency in an infant together with excessive production of IgM and, to a lesser degree, of IgG and IgA, is an unusual combination. A case is reported in which an unremitting lung infection with lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly developed in a previously healthy two-month-old infant. Leukocytosis with lymphocytosis, monocytosis and eosinophilia was rapidly followed by leukopenia and lymphocytepenia after a blood transfusion for anemia. There was a transient clinical remission, but on relapse 10 days later, quantitative and functional T cell deficiency was found together with increased IgG and IgA and with IgM values reaching 50 times greater than normal. Thymic humoral factor was successful in vitro in increasing the number of identifiable T cells (E rosetts) as well as T cell function (leukocyte migration inhibition factor production). However, the infant died suddenly, and at autopsy evidence of a generalized inflammatory reaction compatible with a viral infection was found. The thymus was small, hypoplastic and hypocellular. It is speculated that the T system deficiency may have been acquired following Epstein-Barr virus infection, and that T cell regulatory activity of immunoglobulin production was defective.
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PMID:Immune deficiency of T system with possible T cell regulatory activity defect. 19 69

Histologic, immunohistologic and electron microscopic findings in three children with primary immunodeficiencies are reported. Classical X-linked infantile agammaglobulinemia Bruton was present in case 1 (male, aged 16 years), selective cellular immunodeficiency with thrombopenia in case 2 (male, aged 2 1/2 years) and non-lymphopenic severe combined immunodeficiency in case 3 (male, aged 1 3/4 years). At autopsy, all three cases exhibited unusual types of pneumonia. In case 2 a generalized cytomegalovirus infection was present. Case 3 disclosed panmyelopathia and chronic liver lesions due to severe GvH-reaction subsequent to bone marrow transplantation. A detailed morphologic study of the immune system revealed distinct alterations in the thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes and the lymphatic tissues of the gastrointestinal tract characteristic of an immunodeficiency state, either humoral (case 1), cellular (case 2) or combined (case 3).
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PMID:Pathomorphology of humoral, cellular and combined primary immunodeficiencies. 19 90

In the autopsy materials of 1972-1976, cytomegaly was diagnosed in 47 infants dying in the first year of life; two of them were found to have cytomegalovirusinvolvement of the thymus. The clinical course of the disease depended on the intensity of pathological lesions in organs and tissues associated with secondary infection. In the thymus, alongside with marked accidental involution, cytomegaloviral metamorphosis of the reticular epithelium and epithelium of Hassal bodies was found. Foci of calcinosis were observed in the parenchyma of the thymus. During the disease hypogammaglobulinemia was observed. A possible role of cytomegalovirus infection in the development of acquired immunodeficiency conditions in infants under one is suggested.
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PMID:[Lesion of the thymus gland in infants caused by cytomegalovirus]. 21 Jul 39

A partially purified extract from thymus tissue termed thymosin Fraction 5 has been shown to reconstitute immunological deficiencies resulting from the lack of thymic function in several animal models, as well as humans with primary and secondary immunodeficiency diseases. Thymosin Fraction 5 consists of a family of polypeptides with molecular weights ranging from 1,000 to 15,000. Several of these polypeptides contribute individually to the biological activity of the parent compound. Two polypeptide components of thymosin Fraction 5, termed thymosin alpha1 and polypeptide beta1, have been characterized chemically and biologically. Thymosin alpha1 is a highly acidic molecule composed of 28 amino acid residues. This polypeptide has potent biological activity and has been found to be 10 to 1,000 times as active as thymosin Fraction 5 in one in vivo and several in vitro bioassay systems designed to measure differentiation and function of thymus-dependent lymphocytes (T cells). Polypeptide beta1, in contrast, is inactive in our bioassay systems, suggesting that it is not involved in thymic hormone action. Sequence analysis and homology studies have indicated that polypeptide beta1, although present in Fraction 5, does not contribute to the biological activity of thymosin Fraction 5.
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PMID:The chemistry and biology of thymosin. I. Isolation, characterization, and biological activities of thymosin alpha1 and polypeptide beta1 from calf thymus. 21 84

Recent advances in immunobiology have shed new light on our understanding of the essential role of immunity as it relates to body economy. Immunity, once thought to be the primary defense mechanism against microbial infection, appears to have a much broader function--recognition and elimination of foreign bodies and preservation of the integrity of the individual. As our understanding of the pathophysiology of the immune system became more clear, immunologic reconstitution emerged as a new, promising mode of treatment for a variety of diseases with immunodeficiency. Bone marrow transplantation, thymus transplanation, transfer factor therapy, infusion of leukocytes, BCG vaccination, and other specific or nonspecific immunostimulants have been tried, with dramatic beneficial results in some instances. Although still in its infant stage, this form of treatment appears to have great potential and wide application in the prevention and treatment, not only of primary immunodeficiency, but also of many other diseases such as cancer, the so-called autoimmune diseases, and even aging.
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PMID:Immunologic reconstitution in man--present status. 23 98

The murine fetal thymus obtained early in gestation was found to develop normally in a syngeneic host. In contrast to the adult thymus grafts, the fetal thymus did not undergo the early and marked necrosis following transplantation into syngeneic hosts. Indeed, the fetal thymus was as effective as the adult thymus in achieving immunologic reconstitution of neonatally thymectomized syngeneic mice, and superior to adult thymus, when transplanted into allogeneic hosts. Furthermore, the fetal thymus, unlike the adult thymus, did not induce graft-vs-host disease (GVH) in genetically susceptible neonatally thymectomized mice. These observations seem relevant to thymus transplantation in children with a congenital absence of the thymus. Transplantation of fetal thymus in a child with DiGeorge syndrome corrected the T-cell immunodeficiency, and led to a reduction toward normal of the B-cell population.
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PMID:Fetal thymus transplantation: experimental and clinical observations. 23 78

It is well known that there are many independent and inter-related clinical and pathologic factors which influence the prognosis of patients with benign and malignant conditions. Lymphocyte level is an index of cell-mediated immunity which is important in host defense against cancer. But it is surprising that a simple test such as peripheral lymphocyte count could be correlated with clinical stages and survival results in patients with Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-lymphomatous solid tumors. Regarding the latter, lymphocyte count had prognostic values in patients with cancer of the bone, Ewing's sarcoma; breast; colon; kidney, neuroblastoma; uterine cervix, and other sites. In general, higher lymphocyte counts before therapy correlated with longer survival. Using newer immunologic techniques, T and B lymphocytes can be identified and the different subtypes of leukemia, immunodeficiency and lymphoproliferative diseases have been studied intensively. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia represents a proliferation of B cells, while the Sezary syndrome represents that of T lymphocytes. There is a qualitative and quantitative disturbance of Blymphocytes in patients with multiple myeloma. In Hodgkin's disease, there is hyperactivity of the B cells and functional defect of the T cells. Finally, the nodular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma resulted from neoplastic transformation of the B lymphocytes. In several nonmalignant autoimmune conditions, abnormality of T-cell or B-cell counts has been reported. For example, T cells were reported to be decreased in patients with ulcerative or granulomatous colitis and in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, However, it needs to be pointed out that, in 1973, Farid and associates (44) reported a significant increase in T and a proportionate reduction of B rosette in 17 patients with untreated Grave's disease and 16 with Hashimoto's thyroiditis as compared with 24 normal and eight goiter controls. In 1975, six publications later, they (143) had to announce a retraction because further studies by them and by other investigators could not repeat the earlier results. Despite variations and lack of standardization of the test systems, some consistent deviations of T-lymphocyte and B-lymphocyte counts have been reported. T lymphocytes were quantitatively decreased in patients with carcinoma of the brain, breast, head and neck, liver, lung and urologic organs and with malignant melanoma. In general, there is a marked decrease of T cells with increasing stage of disease and a return of T cells to normal level after successful therapy. Cellular immunity is depressed, often lasting for years after localized radiation therapy, whether or not the thymus is included in the treatment field...
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PMID:Peripheral lymphocyte count and suppopulations of T and B lymphocytes in benign and malignant diseases. 30 Jan 79

In a young woman with ulcerative colitis, hypoimmunoglobulinemia, and humoral immunodeficiency, lymphocyte counts vary between 600 and 1,000 per mm(3) with 0.5-1.5% bone marrow-derived (B) cells and 98-99% thymus-derived (T) cells. Anti-lymphocyte antibodies were detected by immunofluorescence and by microlymphocytotoxicity with increased reactivity at +4 degrees C. They belonged to the IgM class and were polyclonal. Studies performed with various normal lymphocyte subpopulations, several lymphoblastoid cell lines and lymphocytes from immunodeficiency patients showed that these antibodies reacted with B cells. The corresponding antigen(s) is distinct from membrane-bound immunoglobulins, is not an alloantigen, and is probably unrelated to the la-like molecules. Pokeweed mitogen stimulated B cells appear to lose this antigen. Cells from various lymphoproliferative disorders were tested. T-derived and "non T-non-B" leukemic cells did not react with the antibody. Malignant cells from B-derived lymphomas and prolymphocytic leukemias were reactive. The incidence of positivity of the leukemic cells among patients with common B chronic lymphocytic leukemia was surprisingly low (one-third of the patients). The autoantibody nature of the anti-B-cell antibodies and their pathogenic role in the genesis of the patient's hypoimmunoglobulinemia was demonstrated by the effect of removal of antibodies by massive plasmaphereses which were followed by a dramatic and transitory increase of B-cell figures. Whereas most primary immunodeficiency syndromes appear to result from an arrest in the differentiation capabilities of immunologically competent cells, autoantibodies to circulating B lymphocytes may be incriminated in the pathogenesis of some cases of hypogammaglobulinemia.
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PMID:Autoantibodies to B lymphocytes in a patient with hypoimmunoglobulinemia. Characterization and pathogenic role. 30 27

The binding of unsensitized sheep erythrocytes is a characteristic of human thymus dependent T-lymphocytes. We have investigated the effect of theophylline on E-rosette formation using cells from normal individuals, and patients with immunodeficiency or acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, and have attempted to correlate the influence of the drug on distinct T-lymphocyte subpopulations. Three subpopulations of E-rosetting T-lymphocytes can be delineated: theophylline-sensitive T-cells which lose the capacity to form E-rosettes following treatment; theophylline-resistant T-cells which are unaffected by the drug; and theophylline-dependent cells which acquire the ability to form E-rosettes following incubation with theophylline. The action of theophylline was shown to be dose-dependent, temperature-dependent and reversible. Reversibility or re-expression of the receptor for sheep red cells could be blocked by the addition of puromycin. In peripheral blood, E-rosetting T-lymphocytes were roughly divided into two equal populations, one sensitive, the other resistant. Thymocytes were shown to be entirely theophylline-resistant, whereas a small population of cells in peripheral blood and bone marrow were induced to become E-rosetting in the presence of theophylline. Induction by theophylline may be effective at a distinct stage of precursor T-cell differentiation.
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PMID:Theophylline modulation of E-rosette formation: an indicator of T-cell maturation. 31 Jul 44


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