Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) presenting in childhood, with agammaglobulinemia, associated with novel compound heterozygous mutations in DCLRE1C

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) can be caused by deleterious mutations in DCLRE1C, leading to deficient non-homologous end joining by compromising the function of the Artemis protein. This impairs the process of V(D)J recombination of the T- and B-cell receptors and typically results in radiosensitive T-, B-, NK+ SCID presenting during the first months of life. We present a case of a 3-year-old girl with two novel compound heterozygous variants in DCLRE1C (c.58G>C and c.374A>C) that were associated with marked reduced numbers of peripheral T- and B-cells and undetectable total serum IgG. Despite the severe laboratory phenotype, the patient had a normal development, albeit failure to thrive (-2.5 to -3 SD), during her first years of life including day-care attendance at preschool for 1.5 years. After being diagnosed with pneumonia the clinical picture of SCID was recognized and the girl successfully underwent hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation.