Increased T cells lacking immunoglobulin Fc receptors and increased spontaneous morphological blast transformation in a patient with phycomycosis.

A 64-year-old diabetic man had phycomycotic infection with Rhizopus and expired following surgical debridement. Extensive immunological evaluation revealed normal cellular and humoral immune responses including an in vivo response to Rhizopus antigen following delayed hypersensitivity skin testing. Evidence for increased in vivo lymphocyte activation consisted of increased spontaneous morphological blast transformation and increased T non-mu non-gamma cells. This work extends the previous findings of normal immunological responsiveness including in vitro reactivity to Rhizopus antigen in such patients.