Purtilo et al (1974, 1975) reported a kindred named Duncan in which 6 males aged 2 to 19 years died of a lymphoproliferative disorder. The subtle, progressive combined variable immunodeficiency disease was characterized by proliferation of lymphocytes. Infectious mononucleosis occurred during or before the terminal events in at least 3 of 6 boys, with fever, pharyngitis, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, atypical lymphocytosis, and a spectrum of agammaglobulinemia to polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia.
The hematopoietic organs, viscera, and central nervous system were diffusely infiltrated with lymphocytes, plasma cells, and histiocytes, some of which contained erythrocytes. Two of the 6 male half-siblings had lymphomas of the ileum and central nervous system. The authors suggested that Epstein-Barr virus or other viruses triggered the uncontrolled proliferation of lymphocytes and that the decreased attenuation of T-cell function allowed uncontrolled lymphoproliferation."
Hamilton et al (1980) reported on studies of 59 affected men in 7 unrelated families. Thirty-four patients died of infectious mononucleosis, 8 had fatal infectious mononucleosis with immunoblastic sarcoma, 9 patients developed immunodeficiency after Epstein-Barr virus infection, and 8 developed lymphoma.
Purtilo et al (1982) studied 100 cases of XLP in 25 families and proposed four main interrelated phenotypes: infectious mononucleosis (IM), malignant B-cell lymphoma (ML), aplastic anemia (AA), and hypogammaglobulinemia (HGG). Eighty-one of the patients died; 2 were asymptomatic but had immunodeficiency against EBV; 75 had infectious mononucleosis; 17 from this group had aplastic anemia of whom all died within a week. 9 patients developed malignant B-cell lymphoma. 26 of 35 lymphomas were located in the terminal ileum. Heterozygous mothers of diseased individuals had abnormally elevated titers of antibodies to EBV.
Brandau et al (1999) identified a deletion of exon 1 of the SH2D1A gene (300490.0010) in two brothers with early-onset non-Hodgkin lymphoma but without clinical or laboratory evidence of EBV infection. Additional SH2D1A mutations were detected in two other unrelated patients without evidence of EBV infection; one had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and dysgammaglobulinemia. The development of dysgammaglobulinemia and lymphoma without evidence of prior EBV infection in 4 patients suggests that EBV, unlike fulminant or fatal infectious mononucleosis, is not associated with these particular phenotypes. No SH2D1A mutations were found in 3 families in which clinical features were suggestive of XLP.