Cellular Laboratory

The Cellular Laboratory

Summary

Science

Laboratory

Scientist

Science

Both primary and secondary immunodeficiency is investigated in the clinical immunology laboratory. Primary immunodeficiency is a broad term for a spectrum of rare conditions that have a genetic basis, which means that people have been born with subtle mutations in their chromosomes resulting in a functional defect in their immune system. The extent and severity of the resulting immunodeficiency is extremely variable with patients often susceptible to recurrent infections with specific bacteria and viruses, or sometimes having immune systems that attack their own bodies in an uncontrolled way. Diagnosing particular defects in these patients is important to decide on and justify appropriate and often intensive courses of treatment.

The term secondary immunodeficiency indicates that the symptoms do not have a direct genetic basis, instead the condition has been acquired. This can be due to a number of factors from drug induced immunodeficiency to conditions attributed to malnutrition and infection. The predominant secondary immunodeficiency encountered in the clinical laboratory is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) caused by the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A patient with HIV infection is more susceptible to potentially life threatening pathogenic organisms because HIV infects and kills specific cells of the immune system called CD4 T cells that normally control infections such as Tuberculosis.

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