Step 1: Concept
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by the complete absence or non-function of T-cells and B-cells, leaving patients highly vulnerable to lethal infectious diseases.
Step 2: Metabolic Cause of SCID
Autosomal recessive SCID is primarily caused by a deficiency in the enzyme Adenosine Deaminase (ADA).
- ADA is essential for purine metabolism. It catalyzes the irreversible deamination of adenosine and deoxyadenosine into inosine and deoxyinosine.
- In the absence of functional ADA, toxic dATP and deoxyadenosine substrates accumulate inside rapidly dividing lymphocytes.
- This accumulation is highly lymphotoxic, causing premature apoptosis of developing T-cells and B-cells in the thymus and bone marrow.
Step 3: Conclusion
This matches option (A).
Final Answer: (A)