IMMUNOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF A CASE OF POSTTRANSPLANT LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVEDISORDER

We describe a female renal transplant recipient with cytomegalovirus a nd Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections who developed agressive polymor phous polyclonal B cell proliferation. She received two courses of OKT 3. We found a majority of transformed B cells bearing EBV membrane rec eptor CR2 and EBV nuclear antigen. Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders may be associated with a significant immunological activatio n, detected in this case by the sudden increase of beta(2)-microglobul in and immunoglobulin levels, including immunoglobulin D. These raised levels persisted throughout the short and rapid course of the disease .