Parallel tubular arrays in severe combined immunodeficiency disease: an ultrastructural study of peripheral blood lymphocytes

Abstract

Abstract The ultrastructure of the lymphocytes from three children with severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID) is described. Parallel tubular arrays (PTA) were found in a large percentage of circulating lymphocytes (53%, 41%, and 13%) in three SCID patients when compared to age-matched controls. The size of these inclusions was quite variable, with some attaining a length of 1.7 micrometer. They contained a tubular substructure with a diameter of 36--44 nm. The PTA were mostly located in the centriolar and Golgi regions of the cytoplasm, and were sometimes membrane bound. A centriolar origin of the inclusion was suggested. A second inclusion, the tubuloreticular structure, was found in only 1.4% of the circulating lymphocytes from one SCID patient. The origin of the PTA and its occurrence in severe combined immunodeficiency disease are discussed.