The ability to analyze T cell receptor (TCR) thymic repertoire shaping in humans by self and foreign ligands is hampered by the lack of suitable models. We recently documented that the mouse severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)-human fetal liver/thymus model recapitulates the TCR V beta gene repertoire of human thymocytes. Here, we show that an exogenous superantigen, staphylococcal enteroto...

HIV infection has been associated with defective hematopoiesis since the earliest days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Generation of all hematopoietic lineages suffers in the face of infection. The mechanisms by which HIV impairs normal blood cell development remain unclear, and direct infection of intermediate hematopoietic progenitors has not been established as a source of HIV-associated hematopoi...

The opportunistic pathogen Pneumocystis carinii (Pc) is considered to be the leading cause of morbidity in patients with AIDS. It is important, therefore, to determine the immunological mechanisms of resistance to Pc. We have taken advantage of the lack of both T and B lymphocytes in severe combined immunodeficiency (scid) mice to determine the critical factors in resistance to spontaneously ac...

Context: Cartilage-hair hypoplasia is a rare hereditary cause of short stature. The aim of this study was to familiarize physicians with this rare but important disease. Evidence Acquisition: This article is a narrative review of the scientific literature to inform about clinical features and management of Cartilage-hair hypoplasia. A systematic search identified 127 papers include original and...

The optimal approach to stem cell transplantation in children with immunodeficiency who lack a matched family donor is controversial. Unrelated donor stem cell transplantation gives equivalent outcome to mismatched family donor stem cell transplantation in severe combined immunodeficiency, whereas unrelated donors may be preferable in non-severe combined immunodeficiency children. However, unre...

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) therapy may be considered medically necessary for the following indications.  Immunodeficiency States—patients with Primary Immunodeficiencies, including o Congenital agammaglobulinemia o Hypogammaglobulinemia o Common variable immunodeficiency o Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) o Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome o X-linked agammaglobulinemia (Bruton agammaglob...

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), characterized by a profound decrease in both the number and function of T cells, is related to more than 20 different mutations. Recombination-activating gene (RAG) 1 and 2 seem to be two of the most common forms presenting with various manifestations, including typical SCID, Omenn syndrome (OS), atypical SCID (AS), or delayed onset combined immunodefici...

B cell-negative severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is caused by molecules involved in the variable (diversity) joining (V[D]J) recombination process. Four genes involved in the nonhomologous end joining pathway--Artemis, DNA-PKcs, DNA ligase 4, and Cernunnos--are involved in B cell-negative radiosensitive SCID. Deficiencies in DNA ligase 4 and the recently described Cernunnos gene result i...