TRANSIENT APPEARANCE OF CD3(-LYMPHOCYTES WITH MONOCLONAL GENE REARRANGEMENT OF T-CELL RECEPTOR-BETA LOCUS()CD8(+) T)

A benign, transient proliferation of atypical lymphocytes and a monocl onal rearrangement of the T-cell receptor beta (TRB) locus was found i n a 60-year-old woman who presented with low-grade fever, anorexia and fatigue. A marked and transient atypical lymphocytosis (white blood c ell count 90.5 x 10(9)/l) with CD8 surface antigen improved without sp ecific treatment. Although tests for IgM antibodies to hepatitis A, va ricella tester, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) we re all negative, a monoclonal gene rearrangement of TRB locus was obse rved in the DNA of the proliferated atypical lymphocytes by Southern b lotting. The clonal rearrangement and the atypical lymphocytes disappe ared after 14 d, and the patient has remained well for 7 years. These results suggest that monoclonal proliferation of CDs lymphocytes can o ccur based on a non-neoplastic aetiology.