ESPE Abstracts

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: The myokine irisin, is associated with the metabolic and hormonal dysregulation of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in adult women. Recent studies have shown that circulating irisin levels increase in adult women with PCOS.Objective and hypotheses: The purpose of this study was to determine serum concentrations of irisin in lean adolescents with PCOS and healthy controls and to evaluate correlations with clinical, sonographic and hormonal par...

Background: Estrogen insensitivity syndrome is a form of functional estrogen deficiency which is caused by a defect in the estrogen receptor type α (ESR1). As a result of the receptor mutation, estrogens cannot be recognized and hence initiate their biological action on pubertal growth, skeletal maturation, and accrual of bone mass. A mutation in the gene encoding ESR1 has been described in only 2 cases (one man and one woman). We now describe the first family with ESR1 m...

Background: Early genetic diagnosis in patients with disorders of sex development (DSDs) can facilitate clinical management, predict recurrence risks, and augment general knowledge. Novel techniques such as SNP microarrays, GWAS, and exome sequencing have identified mutations in the coding regions of genes linked to DSDs. In some instances, variants in non-coding regions have been associated with 46,XY gonadal dysgenesis, e.g. deletions upstream of SOX9 (PLoS One 2011...

Patients with Disorders of sex development (DSD) can present with a large phenotypic spectrum and caused by a number of different genetic defects. Therefore, it is difficult to reach a specific diagnosis using traditional approaches including biochemical analysis and single gene sequencing in a number of patients with DSD. Recently, next-generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized the identification of causative genes with diseases with genetic heterogeneity using m...

Background: Primary ovarian failure (POF) is a major cause of female infertility. POF is characterized by amenorrhea, hypo-estrogenism and elevated gonadotrophin levels. In POF disorder, several genetic alterations have been described, however in most of the patients the etiology of this disorder remains unknown.Objective and hypotheses: To identify new genes implicated in the development of POF using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS).<p class="abstex...