Fc. Rosman et al., ACUTE AND CHRONIC HUMAN ADENOVIRUS PNEUMONIA - CELLULAR AND EXTRACELLULAR-MATRIX COMPONENTS, PEDIATRIC PATHOLOGY & LABORATORY MEDICINE, 16(3), 1996, pp. 521-541
We present a comparative histopathological study of both acute and chr
onic human adenovirus pneumonia, with reference to the cellular and ex
tracellular matrix components. Seventeen lungs from autopsied patients
whose ages ranged from 2 to 60 months were studied. Adenovirus types
1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 were isolated from 15 patients with acute lung disea
se, and types 2 and 7 were isolated from the other two patients with c
hronic pulmonary illness. The results indicated the occurrence of two
basic patterns of adenovirus interstitial pneumonia: (1) classic patte
rn (acute), characterized by necrosis and degeneration and many type I
I pneumocytes with intranuclear inclusion bodies, which were positive
for adenovirus DNA by in situ hybridization,and (2) proliferative or p
roliferative-productive pattern (chronic), which presented with diffus
e pulmonary fibrosis and the interstitial proliferation of fibroblast-
like cells, compatible with myofibroblasts (positive for vimentin and
alpha smooth muscle actin), and increase in collagen types I and III,
elastic fibers, and proteoglycans. Alveolar collapse appears to be an
important pathogenetic mechanism in the development of this pattern.