ESPE Abstracts

Background: RARβ cooperates with Nur77 to in-vitro regulate HSD3B2 transcription. NUR77 expression parallels HSD3B2 expression with a much lower level in androgen-producing adrenocortical tissues (childhood virilizing adrenocortical tumours (VAT), fetal zone (FeZ) and zona reticularis, ZR). RARβ is down-regulated in starved, hyperandrogenic H295R cells. However, the mechanisms regulating this expression pattern and the relevance of RARβ to huma...

Disorders/differences in sex development (DSD) are defined as congenital conditions in which development of chromosomal, gonadal or anatomical sex is atypical. 46,XY DSD include defects in androgen synthesis or action or complete (CGD)/partial (PGD) gonadal dysgenesis. The aim of this study was to characterize the molecular genetic diagnosis of individuals with 46,XY DSD followed at Garrahan Pediatric Hospital.Medical records of 140 patients (P) followed...

The contiguous gene deletion syndrome, CAH-X, was reported in an 8.5% of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) patients with a TNXA/TNXB chimera. This results in deletions of CYP21A2 gene, encoding 21-hydroxylase necessary for cortisol biosynthesis, and TNXB, encoding the extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin-X (TNX). There are three TNXA/TNXB chimeras (CH1, CH2, CH3) that differ in the junction site, resulting in TNXB haploinsu...

Aggrecan (ACAN) is the major proteoglycan in the articular cartilage, critical for the structure and function of growth plate cartilage.Case Report: 11-year-old (y) boy admitted at 1.8 y of chronological age (CA), due to poor growth rate Height (H): 76 cm (−2.75 SDS). Initial physical examination: mild dysmorphic features and prepubertal external genitalia (two scrotal testes, 1 cc volume each). Neurologic maturation was normal. Initial bo...

Background: During the 1st months of postnatal life serum luteinizing hormone (LH) levels in girls are lower than in boys. The mechanism of this sex difference is not known. It has been proposed that foetal or perinatal androgenic steroids have an effect on the control of LH secretion.Objective and hypotheses: To study the possible influence of high levels of androgens on serum gonadotropins during the 1st months of life in a cohort of nine 46,XX testicu...

Background: Congenital growth hormone deficiency may be isolated (IGHD) or multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (MPHD). The Sonic Hedgehog signalling (SHH) pathway has an important role in the pituitary development and growth, acting early in ventral forebrain. The SHH signalling mediates its effects through three zinc fingers proteins (Gli1, Gli2 and Gli3), which lead to activation or repression of target genes. Several heterozygous GLI2 mutations have been reported in patie...

Disorders of sex development (DSD) are those congenital conditions in which development of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical sex is atypical. The aim of this study was to characterize the histology of 46,XX DSD prepubertal gonads. We studied 25 gonads of fourteen 46,XX DSD patients. The age of biopsy/gonadectomy was 1.17 (0.08–4.17) years (median and range). Molecular studies confirmed the absence of SRY by PCR and/or MLPA in blood samples of all patients and i...

Background: In Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a hereditary disease in which AR mutations in 46,XY patients present with partial (PAIS) or complete (CAIS) defects in virilisation.Objective and hypotheses: The aim was to analyze the effect of lack of androgen action in germ cell (GC) health and survival along postnatal development, previous to Sertoli cell (SC) pubertal maturation.Method: The histological features and quant...

Background: Carriers of germline DICER1 mutations are predisposed to a rare cancer syndrome, the DICER1 syndrome, associated with tumors such as pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB), ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors (SLCT), multinodular goiter (MNG), cystic nephroma (CN), embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) or primitive neuroectodermic tumor. DICER1 is involved in the generation of microRNAs (miRNAs), short, double-stranded, non-coding RNAs that modulate gene expression at ...

Background: The SRY protein is a transcription factor that contains a high mobility group (HMG) homeobox domain which possesses sequence-specific DNA binding activity and regulates other genes involved in male sex determination pathway. The majority of the identified mutations occurred within the HMG-box motif. There are few reports of pedigrees with familial transmission.Objective and Hypotheses: To describe a paternally transmitted novel SRY mutation w...