Adenosine deaminase 2 (ADA2) deficiency is a disorder characterized by abnormal inflammation of various tissues. Signs and symptoms can begin anytime from early childhood to adulthood. The severity of the disorder also varies, even among affected individuals in the same family.

ADA2 deficiency is caused by mutations in the ADA2 gene. This gene provides instructions for making an enzyme called adenosine deaminase 2. Studies suggest that this enzyme plays an essential role in the growth and development of certain immune system cells, including macrophages, which are a type of white blood cell that plays a critical role in inflammation. Some macrophages are pro-inflammatory, meaning they promote inflammation, while others are anti-inflammatory, meaning they reduce inflammation.

More than 160 individuals with ADA2 deficiency have been described in the medical literature. However, researchers suspect that many more people may be affected, and ADA2 deficiency may not be a rare disease. They are working to determine whether this condition could underlie other, more common forms of vasculitis and stroke whose causes are currently unknown.

This condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, which means both copies of the gene in each cell have mutations. The parents of an individual with an autosomal recessive condition each carry one copy of the mutated gene, but they typically do not show signs and symptoms of the condition.

Published Date: August 01, 2018Published By: National Institutes of Health