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Updated: Mar 3, 2026
Isolation of Tonsillar Mononuclear Cells to Study Ex Vivo Innate Immune Responses in a Human Mucosal Lymphoid Tissue
Published on: June 14, 2020
Distinct Distribution of Immunocytes in a Retropharyngeal Lymphadenopathy Associated with Kawasaki Disease: A Case
Seigo Okada1, Yuki Kobayashi-Fujiwara, Atsunori Oga
1Department of Pediatrics, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan.
Objectives:
Retropharyngeal lesions are often associated with Kawasaki disease (KD). A 4-year-old male first presented a peritonsillar and retropharyngeal abscess-like lesion. Surgical tonsillectomy was performed to avoid a risk of mediastinal abscess, but he fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of KD after the operation. This prompted us to perform a histological study on the KD tonsils.
Methods:
The histopathology of the KD tonsil specimens were compared with hypertrophic tonsils obtained from 4 patients with chronic tonsillitis unrelated to KD assessed by the immunostainings.
Results:
KD tonsils showed small lymphatic follicles and neutrophil infiltration in the peritonsillar muscle layer, with no evidence of vasculitis or abscess formation. The KD tonsils exclusively showed (1) predominant activated CD4+ T cells in the perifollicular interstitium, (2) sparse scattering of CD68+ monocytes/macrophages in the lymphatic follicles, and (3) polyclonal carcinoembryonic antigen-positive cells in the lymphatic follicles and venules with the high endothelial cells.
Conclusions:
The uniquely distributed immunocytes suggest the inflammatory process of KD involving the pathogen-associated molecules.
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