Successful reconstitution of leukocyte adhesion defect after umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant

Leukocyte adhesion deficiencies (LADs) are a type of primary immunodeficiencies characterized by delayed detachment of the umbilical cord, impaired wound healing, leukocytosis, and recurrent infections. The disease is caused by genetic defects affecting different steps in the process of leukocyte adhesion cascade such as rolling, integrin activation, and adhesion of leukocytes, resulting in the impairment of leukocyte trafficking. Till date, three types of LAD have been documented: type I, II and III. Type I LAD is caused by congenital defect in the β2 integrin receptor complex CD11/CD18 on the cell surface of leukocytes, which results in impaired leukocytes connection to endothelial cells and migration. Type II LAD is caused by defect in the fucose metabolism resulting in the absence of fucosylated selectin ligands on neutrophils and impaired rolling phase of the leukocyte adhesion cascade. Type III LAD is caused by mutations in the kindlin-3 gene resulting in defective integrin activation. In this article, we present a review of literature for type I LAD, and successful treatment of patient using umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation.