Chronic Granulomatous Disease-Like Presentation of a Child with Autosomal Recessive PKCδ Deficiency

Background Autosomal recessive (AR) PKC delta deficiency is a rare inborn error of immunity (IEI) characterized by autoimmunity and susceptibility to bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. PKC delta is involved in the intracellular production of reactive oxidative species (ROS). Material and Methods We studied a 5-year old girl presenting with a history of Burkholderia cepacia infection. She had no history of autoimmunity, lymphocyte counts were normal, and no auto-antibodies were detected in her plasma. We performed a targeted panel analysis of 407 immunity-related genes and immunological investigations of the underlying genetic condition in this patient. Results Consistent with a history suggestive of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), oxidative burst impairment was observed in the patient's circulating phagocytes in a dihydrorhodamine 123 (DHR) assay. However, targeted genetic panel analysis identified no candidate variants of known CGD-causing genes. Two heterozygous candidate variants were detected in PRKCD: c.285C > A (p.C95*) and c.376G > T (p.D126Y). The missense variant was also predicted to cause abnormal splicing, as it is located at the splice donor site of exon 5. TOPO-TA cloning confirmed that exon 5 was completely skipped, resulting in a truncated protein. No PKC delta protein was detected in the patient's neutrophils and monocyte-derived macrophages. The monocyte-derived macrophages of the patient produced abnormally low levels of ROS, as shown in an Amplex Red assay. Conclusion PKC delta deficiency should be considered in young patients with CGD-like clinical manifestations and abnormal DHR assay results, even in the absence of clinical and biological manifestations of autoimmunity.