Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a multisystem disease affecting epithelia of the respiratory tract, exocrine pancreas, intestine, hepatobiliary system, and exocrine sweat glands. Morbidities include recurrent sinusitis and bronchitis, progressive obstructive pulmonary disease with bronchiectasis, exocrine pancreatic deficiency and malnutrition, pancreatitis, gastrointestinal manifestations (meconium ileus, rectal prolapse, distal intestinal obstructive syndrome), liver disease, diabetes, male infertility due to hypoplasia or aplasia of the vas deferens, and reduced fertility or infertility in some women. Pulmonary disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in CF.

Pierre Robin sequence is a craniofacial anomaly comprising mandibular hypoplasia, cleft secondary palate, and glossoptosis leading to life-threatening obstructive apnea and feeding difficulaties during the neonatal period (summary by Tan et al., 2013).

X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) is characterized by recurrent bacterial infections in affected males in the first two years of life. Recurrent otitis is the most common infection prior to diagnosis. Conjunctivitis, sinopulmonary infections, diarrhea, and skin infections are also frequently seen. Approximately 60% of individuals with XLA are recognized as having immunodeficiency when they develop a severe, life-threatening infection such as pneumonia, empyema, meningitis, sepsis, cellulitis, or septic arthritis. S pneumoniae and H influenzae are the most common organisms found prior to diagnosis and may continue to cause sinusitis and otitis after diagnosis and the initiation of gammaglobulin substitution therapy. Severe, difficult-to-treat enteroviral infections (often manifest as dermatomyositis or chronic meningoencephalitis) can be prevented by this treatment. The prognosis for individuals with XLA has improved markedly in the last 25 years as a result of earlier diagnosis, the development of preparations of gammaglobulin that allow normal concentrations of serum IgG to be achieved, and more liberal use of antibiotics.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD), or pneumonitis, is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized pathologically by expansion of the interstitial compartment of the lung by inflammatory cells. Fibrosis occurs in many cases (Visscher and Myers, 2006). See also interstitial lung disease-1 (ILD1; 619611). Desquamative interstitial pneumonitis (DIP) was originally described as a pathologic entity by Liebow et al. (1965). Lung biopsy shows diffuse and uniform filling of alveoli by clusters of cells which Liebow et al. (1965) speculated to be 'desquamated pneumocytes.' Since then, these cells have been shown primarily to be pigmented alveolar macrophages. Other features include thickened alveolar septa with an infiltrate of inflammatory cells and plump, cuboidal type II pneumocytes. Mild collagen deposition without architectural distortion or honeycombing may be present. Different forms of ILD represent pathologic classifications based on histologic patterns rather than clinical diagnoses and may occur in a variety of clinical contexts (Visscher and Myers, 2006). Although DIP occurs most often as a sporadic disorder in adults during the third to fifth decade of life and is highly associated with smoking (Carrington et al., 1978), reports of a familial form with onset in infancy and early death suggest a genetic basis (Sharief et al., 1994). Cases of DIP reported in infants are often more severe and refractory to treatment than those reported in adults (Nogee et al., 2001).

Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis is a benign lymphoproliferative disorder of the lung that is characterized by the presence of a dense, predominantly lymphocytic interstitial infiltrate (lymphocytes, plasma cells, other elements of the lymphoreticular system) that expands the alveolar septa.

Hereditary mucoepithelial dysplasia (HMD) is a rare autosomal dominant genodermatosis characterized by onset in infancy of a panepithelial defect involving the oral, nasal, conjunctival, vaginal, cervical, perineal, urethral, and bladder mucosa. Patients develop cataracts, blindness, nonscarring alopecia, perineal psoriasiform lesions, and follicular keratoses (Witkop et al., 1982). Although 1 family was reported to have progressive severe interstitial lung disease (Witkop et al., 1979), this feature has not been reported in other families and is not considered a criterion for diagnosis. However, the clinical triad of nonscarring alopecia, well-demarcated fiery red mucosa, and psoriasiform perineal involvement has been consistently observed (review by Boralevi et al., 2005).

The X-linked otopalatodigital (X-OPD) spectrum disorders, characterized primarily by skeletal dysplasia, include the following: Otopalatodigital syndrome type 1 (OPD1). Otopalatodigital syndrome type 2 (OPD2). Frontometaphyseal dysplasia type 1 (FMD1). Melnick-Needles syndrome (MNS). Terminal osseous dysplasia with pigmentary skin defects (TODPD). In OPD1, most manifestations are present at birth; females can present with severity similar to affected males, although some have only mild manifestations. In OPD2, females are less severely affected than related affected males. Most males with OPD2 die during the first year of life, usually from thoracic hypoplasia resulting in pulmonary insufficiency. Males who live beyond the first year of life are usually developmentally delayed and require respiratory support and assistance with feeding. In FMD1, females are less severely affected than related affected males. Males do not experience a progressive skeletal dysplasia but may have joint contractures and hand and foot malformations. Progressive scoliosis is observed in both affected males and females. In MNS, wide phenotypic variability is observed; some individuals are diagnosed in adulthood, while others require respiratory support and have reduced longevity. MNS in males results in perinatal lethality in all recorded cases. TODPD, seen only in females, is characterized by a skeletal dysplasia that is most prominent in the digits, pigmentary defects of the skin, and recurrent digital fibromata.