Background: Prolidase deficiency is a complex disease characterized by various skin manifestations accompanied by mental retardation, facial dysmorphism and susceptibility to pyogenic infections.
Methods: We assessed a patient presenting a peculiar phenotype combining manifestations of prolidase deficiency with features typical of hyper-IgE syndrome. Mutation analysis was performed using direct PCR amplification and PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.
Results: We identified a novel homozygous recessive mutation in the PEPD gene, which was found to segregate in the family of the patient with the disease and was not found in a panel of DNA samples representative of all major Druze families living in northern Israel.
Discussion: Our results suggest that prolidase deficiency associated with hyper-IgE syndrome, a rare disorder, can be caused by mutations in PEPD.