Inherited human TFIIIA deficiency disrupts T cell development

Molecular characterization of human monogenic inborn errors of T cell immunity provides both biological insights and medical progress. We report rare biallelic deleterious variants in GTF3A, encoding transcription factor IIIA (TFIIIA), a zinc-finger protein required for transcription and chaperoning of 5S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). These variants were identified in ten patients from eight unrelated families and eight countries presenting with either T-B+NK+ severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) or combined immune deficiency (CID), characterized by T cell lymphopenia and variable antibody deficiency. The GTF3A variants disrupt TFIIIA function through distinct mechanisms, including defective DNA binding, aberrant nuclear localization, and reduced protein stability compromising TFIIIA-mediated transcription and chaperoning of 5S rRNA. Using artificial thymic organoids derived from TFIIIA-deficient CD34+ progenitors, an early developmental arrest at the T cell commitment stage was documented in vitro. Zebrafish deficient for gtf3aa recapitulated the impaired thymocyte development in vivo. Together, these findings establish TFIIIA deficiency as a novel cause of (S)CID, expanding the genetic and mechanistic landscape of inborn errors of T cell immunity and uncovering an essential role for TFIIIA in human adaptive immunity.