Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Case Report
  • Published:

Transplantation of cord blood progenitor cells can promote bone resorption in autosomal recessive osteopetrosis

Abstract

Allogeneic BMT has been reported to be the only curative therapy for children with juvenile autosomal recessive osteopetrosis. We report the case of a 14-month-old child in whom bone resorption was observed after cord blood transplantation (CBT). The patient was given CBT from an unrelated newborn matched for five of six HLA antigens. At the time of transplantation, the child presented with neurological symptoms, with feeding problems and visual impairment. A successful engraftment of donor hematopoiesis was demonstrated and the child experienced grade I acute GVHD. Progressive bone clearing was achieved and a bone marrow trephine demonstrated signs of osteoclast function. Despite full engraftment and bone resorption, neurologic deterioration did not improve. This experience documents that CBT can promote the correction of juvenile osteopetrosis. The shorter time needed both to identify an unrelated donor and to perform the transplant, as well as the lower incidence of GVHD make this procedure more appealing than BMT in children lacking an HLA-compatible relative.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Locatelli, F., Beluffi, G., Giorgiani, G. et al. Transplantation of cord blood progenitor cells can promote bone resorption in autosomal recessive osteopetrosis. Bone Marrow Transplant 20, 701–705 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1700946

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1700946

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links