HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sebire, N J Articles by Cubitt, W D Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sebire, N J Articles by Cubitt, W D Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Diarrhea

Pathology of astrovirus associated diarrhoea in a paediatric bone marrow transplant recipient

¹ Department of Histopathology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3JH, UK
² Department of Gastroenterology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond Street, London
³ Department of Immunology, Great Ormond Street Hospital
⁴ Department of Virology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond Street

Correspondence to:
Dr N J Sebire
Department of Histopathology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3JH, UK; SebirN{at}gosh.nhs.uk
ABSTRACT
Human astrovirus infection often causes outbreaks of self limiting diarrhoea, but may also infect patients who are immunodeficient or immunocompromised. Although there are previous publications relating to various aspects of astroviruses, there is a minimal amount of literature on the histopathological features of gastrointestinal astrovirus infection in humans. We report the histopathological findings, including immunohistochemical and electron microscopic features, of astrovirus infection in a bone marrow transplant recipient aged 4 years with diarrhoea. The appearance of a small intestinal biopsy did not suggest graft versus host disease, but demonstrated villous blunting, irregularity of surface epithelial cells, and an increase in lamina propria inflammatory cell density. Immunohistochemical staining with a murine astrovirus group specific monoclonal antibody demonstrated progressively more extensive staining in the duodenal and jejunal biopsies, predominantly restricted to the luminal surface and cytoplasm of surface epithelial cells, most marked at the villus tips. Electron microscopic examination demonstrated viral particles within the cytoplasm of enterocytes, focally forming paracrystalline arrays.

Abbreviations: GVHD, graft versus host disease

Keywords: astrovirus; bone marrow transplantation; immunohistochemistry; electron microscopy

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. S. Bonaparte, P. S. Hair, D. Banthia, D. M. Marshall, K. M. Cunnion, and N. K. Krishna Human Astrovirus Coat Protein Inhibits Serum Complement Activation via C1, the First Component of the Classical Pathway J. Virol., January 15, 2008; 82(2): 817 - 827. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. A. Moser, M. Carter, and S. Schultz-Cherry Astrovirus Increases Epithelial Barrier Permeability Independently of Viral Replication J. Virol., November 1, 2007; 81(21): 11937 - 11945. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]