The immotile cilia syndrome

Abstract

The immotile cilia syndrome is a rare cause of recurrent respiratory-tract infections and sinusitis. In some 50% of the cases this syndrome is associated with situs inversus; it is then called Kartagener's syndrome. Males with immotile cilia are sterile owing to the lack of motility of their spermatozoa. Biopsy samples of the nasal mucosa were taken from four unrelated patients with situs inversus and a history of frequent respiratory-tract infections and sinusitis. The biopsy samples were examined with the phase-contrast microscope, the transmission electron microscope and the scanning electron microscope. The cilia were found to be immotile, the dynein arms were absent and the normal parallel arrangement of adjacent cilia was lacking and replaced by a multidirectional orientation. In these patients, there was an abundance of mucus on the epithelium surface.