A Tale of Two SCIDs

Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation may be curative for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). However, for a majority of infants with SCID a suitable donor is not available, and even with a matched donor, allogeneic HSC transplantation itself carries potential complications such as graft-versus-host disease as well as side effects from myelosuppressive chemotherapy. In the past decade, substantial advances have been made in the transplantation of gene-modified autologous HSCs, especially for two forms of SCID: X-linked SCID (SCID-X1) and adenosine deaminase (ADA)-deficient SCID. Two new reports in this issue of Science Translational Medicine add to the accumulating findings from gene therapy trials in Italy, France, and the United States that show clinical benefits of this alternative treatment.