Autoimmune polyendocrine failure - Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism - after allogenic bone marrow transplantation in a patient with lymphoblastic leukaemia

Abstract

In this report we describe a patient who, after allogeniec bone marrow transplantation from her HLA-identical sister, developed polyendocrine failure in the form of Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism. This was the result of the transfer of donor lymphoid cells which were activated by allogenic bone marrow transplantation. The full chimerism of the recipient was demonstrated by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis from nucleated blood cells and fibroblast DNA. During the 9-year follow-up, the donor developed hypothyroidism and signs of pre-Type 1 diabetes. This clinical observation resembles the adoptive transfer of diabetes observed in non-obese-diabetic mice and BB rats and confirms the role of immune processes in the pathogenesis of this disease. © 1993 Springer-Verlag.