The phenotypic spectrum of X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (X-SCID) ranges from typical X-SCID (early-onset disease in males that is fatal if not treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation [HSCT] or gene therapy) to atypical X-SCID (later-onset disease comprising phenotypes caused by variable immunodeficiency, immune dysregulation, and/or autoimmunity). Typical X-SCID. Prior to universal newborn screening (NBS) for SCID most males with typical X-SCID came to medical attention between ages three and six months because of recurrent infections, persistent infections, and infections with opportunistic organisms. With universal NBS for SCID, the common presentation for typical X-SCID is now an asymptomatic, healthy-appearing male infant. Atypical X-SCID, which usually is not detected by NBS, can manifest in the first years of life or later with one of the following: recurrent upper and lower respiratory tract infections with bronchiectasis; Omenn syndrome, a clinical phenotype caused by immune dysregulation; X-SCID combined immunodeficiency (often with recurrent infections, warts, and dermatitis); immune dysregulation and autoimmunity; or Epstein-Barr virus-related lymphoproliferative complications.

Severe combined immunodeficiency refers to a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of disorders with defective cellular and humoral immune function. Patients with SCID present in infancy with recurrent, persistent infections by opportunistic organisms, including Candida albicans, Pneumocystis carinii, and cytomegalovirus, among many others. Laboratory analysis shows profound lymphopenia with diminished or absent immunoglobulins. The common characteristic of all types of SCID is absence of T cell-mediated cellular immunity due to a defect in T-cell development. Without treatment, patients usually die within the first year of life. The overall prevalence of all types of SCID is approximately 1 in 75,000 births (Fischer et al., 1997; Buckley, 2004). Genetic Heterogeneity of SCID SCID can be divided into 2 main classes: those with B lymphocytes (B+ SCID) and those without (B- SCID). Presence or absence of NK cells is variable within these groups. The most common form of SCID is X-linked T-, B+, NK- SCID (SCIDX1; 300400) caused by mutation in the IL2RG gene (308380) on chromosome Xq13.1. Autosomal recessive SCID includes T-, B-, NK+ SCID, caused by mutation in the RAG1 and RAG2 genes on 11p13; T-, B+, NK- SCID (600802), caused by mutation in the JAK3 gene (600173) on 19p13; T-, B+, NK+ SCID (IMD104; 608971), caused by mutation in the IL7R gene (146661) on 5p13; T-, B+, NK+ SCID (IMD105; 619924), caused by mutation in the CD45 gene (PTPRC; 151460) on 1q31-q32; T-, B+, NK+ SCID (IMD19; 615617), caused by mutation in the CD3D gene (186790) on 11q23; T-, B-, NK- SCID (102700) caused by mutation in the ADA (608958) gene on 20q13; and T-, B-, NK+ SCID with sensitivity to ionizing radiation (602450), caused by mutation in the Artemis gene (DCLRE1C; 605988) on 10p13 (Kalman et al., 2004); T-, B+, NK+ SCID with intellectual disability, spasticity, and craniofacial abnormalities (IMD49; 617237), caused by mutation in the BCL11B gene (606558) on 14q32; and T-, B-, NK+ SCID with microcephaly, growth retardation, and sensitivity to ionizing radiation (IMD124; 611291), caused by mutation in the NHEJ1 gene (611290) on 2q35. Approximately 20 to 30% of all SCID patients are T-, B-, NK+, and approximately half of these patients have mutations in the RAG1 or RAG2 genes (Schwarz et al., 1996; Fischer et al., 1997).

JAK3-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is an inherited disorder of the immune system. Individuals with JAK3-deficient SCID lack the necessary immune cells to fight off certain bacteria, viruses, and fungi. They are prone to repeated and persistent infections that can be very serious or life-threatening. Often the organisms that cause infection in people with JAK3-deficient SCID are described as opportunistic because they ordinarily do not cause illness in healthy people. Affected infants typically develop chronic diarrhea, a fungal infection in the mouth called oral thrush, pneumonia, and skin rashes. Persistent illness also causes affected individuals to grow more slowly than other children. Without treatment, people with JAK3-deficient SCID usually live only into early childhood.

An exceedingly rare, autosomal recessive immune disease characterized by thumb aplasia, short stature with skeletal abnormalities, and combined immunodeficiency described in three sibships from two possibly related families. The skeletal abnormalities included unfused olecranon and the immunodeficiency manifested with severe chickenpox and chronic candidiasis. No new cases have been reported since 1978.

An extremely rare type of severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID) characterized by the classical signs of T-B- SCID (severe and recurrent infections, diarrhea, failure to thrive, absence of T and B lymphocytes) associated with skeletal anomalies like short stature, bowing of the long bones and metaphyseal abnormalities of variable degree of severity.

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency is a systemic purine metabolic disorder that primarily affects lymphocyte development, viability, and function. The ADA deficiency phenotypic spectrum includes typical early-onset severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID), diagnosed in infancy (about 80% of individuals), and less severe "delayed" or "late-onset" combined immunodeficiency (ADA-CID), diagnosed in older children and adults (15%-20% of individuals). Some healthy individuals who are deficient in red blood cell ADA (termed "partial ADA deficiency") have been discovered by screening populations or relatives of individuals with ADA-SCID. Newborn screening (NBS) for SCID uses extracts from Guthrie card dried blood spots to measure T-cell receptor excision circle (TREC) DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Screening specific for ADA deficiency can also be performed by detection of elevated levels of adenosine (Ado) and deoxyadenosine (dAdo) by tandem mass spectrometry (TMS). Both techniques can identify ADA-SCID before affected infants become symptomatic. Untreated ADA-SCID presents as life-threatening opportunistic illnesses in the first weeks to months of life with poor linear growth and weight gain secondary to persistent diarrhea, extensive dermatitis, and recurrent pneumonia. Skeletal abnormalities affecting ribs and vertebra, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, hemolytic anemia, neurologic abnormalities, and transaminitis may also suggest untreated ADA-SCID. Characteristic immune abnormalities are lymphocytopenia (low numbers of T, B, and NK cells) combined with the absence of both humoral and cellular immune function. If immune function is not restored with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), gene therapy, or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), children with ADA-SCID rarely survive beyond age one to two years. NBS for SCID does not identify individuals with the ADA-CID phenotype whose TREC numbers are above the threshold values of most screening laboratories. However, ADA-CID is identified by TMS NBS since the ADA substrates Ado and dAdo are increased. As TMS NBS for Ado/dAdo is not yet widely performed, individuals with ADA-CID are more often clinically diagnosed between ages one and ten years ("delayed" onset), or less often in the second to fourth decades ("late"/"adult" onset). Because the immunologic abnormalities are less pronounced than those of ADA-SCID, infections in ADA-CID may not be life-threatening and include recurrent otitis media, sinusitis, upper respiratory infections, and human papilloma viral infections. Untreated individuals with ADA-CID can develop over time chronic pulmonary disease, autoimmunity, atopic disease with elevated immunoglobulin E, and malignancy.

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) due to DCLRE1C deficiency is a type of SCID (see this term) characterized by severe and recurrent infections, diarrhea, failure to thrive, and cell sensitivity to ionizing radiation.

Severe combined immunodeficiency-19 (IMD19) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by onset in early infancy of recurrent bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. Patients usually have chronic diarrhea, recurrent respiratory infections, and failure to thrive. Immunologic workup shows a T cell-negative, B cell-positive, natural killer (NK) cell-positive phenotype. The disorder is lethal in early childhood without bone marrow transplantation (summary by Yu et al., 2011).

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) due to DNA-PKcs deficiency is an extremely rare type of SCID (see this term) characterized by the classical signs of SCID (severe and recurrent infections, diarrhea, failure to thrive), absence of T and B lymphocytes, and cell sensitivity to ionizing radiation.

Any primary immunodeficiency disease in which the cause of the disease is a mutation in the BCL11B gene.

Combined immunodeficiency and megaloblastic anemia with or without hyperhomocysteinemia is an inborn error of folate metabolism due to deficiency of methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-1. Manifestations may include hemolytic uremic syndrome, macrocytosis, epilepsy, hearing loss, retinopathy, mild mental retardation, lymphopenia involving all subsets, and low T-cell receptor excision circles. Folinic acid supplementation is an effective treatment (summary by Ramakrishnan et al., 2016).

Severe combined immunodeficiency-104 (IMD104) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by the onset of recurrent infections in early infancy. Manifestations may include oral thrush, fever, and failure to thrive. Some patients have lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly, whereas others have absence of lymph nodes and lack a thymic shadow. Laboratory studies show decreased or absent numbers of nonfunctional T cells, normal or increased levels of B cells, variable hypogammaglobulinemia, and normal NK cells. The disorder is caused by a defect in IL7 (146660) signaling due to a mutant IL7 receptor. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation may be curative (Roifman et al., 2000 and Giliani et al., 2005). Giliani et al. (2005) provided a detailed review of IL7R deficiency, including discussion of the IL7R gene and its function in the immune system, clinical features of the disorder, and experiences with hematopoietic stem cell transplant as treatment. For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of autosomal recessive SCID, see 601457.

Gastrointestinal defects and immunodeficiency syndrome-1 (GIDID1) is characterized by multiple intestinal atresia, in which atresia occurs at various levels throughout the small and large intestines. Surgical outcomes are poor, and the condition is usually fatal within the first month of life. Some patients exhibit inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with or without intestinal atresia, and in some cases, the intestinal features are associated with either mild or severe combined immunodeficiency (Samuels et al., 2013; Avitzur et al., 2014; Lemoine et al., 2014). Genetic Heterogeneity of GIDID See also GIDID2 (619708), caused by mutation in the PI4KA gene (600286) on chromosome 22q11.

Immunodeficiency-122 (IMD122) is an autosomal recessive inborn error of immunity characterized by early-infantile onset of recurrent viral and bacterial infections of the respiratory tract and skin. Laboratory studies show severely decreased CD3+ T cells particularly affecting naive T cells, impaired early TCR recombination with a restricted TCR repertoire, normal or low-normal B cells, and decreased or increased NK cells. Affected individuals have poor overall growth, global developmental delay with poor motor skills, impaired intellectual development, and poor or absent speech acquisition. More variable findings may include diffuse skin rash, erythroderma, sensorineural hearing loss, lymphadenopathy, dysmorphic facial features, and tooth abnormalities. Death in early childhood may occur (Mehawej et al., 2023; Riestra et al., 2024).