Warthin-Finkeldey cells
Summary
Warthin-Finkeldey cells are multinucleated giant cells with numerous nuclei and eosinophilic inclusions found in lymphoid tissue during measles infection. They are considered pathognomonic for measles and appear in tonsils, lymph nodes, and Peyer patches.
Detail
These cells form when measles virus, a paramyxovirus bearing an F (fusion) protein, causes host cell membranes to fuse into syncytia; the same mechanism produces the giant cells seen in respiratory epithelium and in the Koplik spots of the buccal mucosa. Warthin-Finkeldey cells are found in the reticuloendothelial system during the prodromal and early exanthematous phases and can be identified on lymph node biopsy or tonsillar tissue. Their presence is one reason measles causes profound, prolonged lymphopenia and immune suppression, an effect now recognized as 'immune amnesia' that leaves children vulnerable to secondary infection for years. The commonest cause of death in measles is secondary bacterial pneumonia; other complications are otitis media, croup, diarrhoea, acute post-infectious encephalitis, and the delayed, uniformly fatal subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.
Sources
- Robbins Basic Pathology
- Levinson Medical Microbiology and Immunology
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