Abstract
Purpose: Patients affected by primary immunodeficiency usually undergo a wide range of infections, including reactivation of latent ones. Here we report two cases suffering from late-onset combined immunodeficiency in which ulcerative enteritis due to human Cytomegalovirus caused a life-threatening malabsorption syndrome.
Methods: The assessment of the viral load was carried out on both blood and mucosal samples by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. The generation of autologous virus-specific cytotoxic T cell lines was performed according to Good Manufacturing Practice protocol after peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected through a single leukapheresis.
Results: In both patients, the viral load resulted negligible in peripheral blood, but very high in mucosal specimens (range 1.064 - 1.031.692 copies/105 cells). After two rounds of antiviral therapy proved unsuccessful, the generation of virus-specific cytotoxic T cell lines was carried out despite severe lymphopenia, and their infusion resulted safe and durably effective in healing intestinal ulcerations and resetting the viral load.
Conclusions: Virus-specific cellular therapy was useful in reconstituting specific immunity and treating severe human Cytomegalovirus-related enteritis in patients with primary immunodeficiency.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 681-685 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Clinical Immunology |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Aug 1 2014 |
Keywords
- Enteritis
- human cytomegalovirus
- immunodeficiency
- T cell therapy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology
- Medicine(all)