ESPE Abstracts

The zebrafish is established as an important model system for studying development and disease, and characterisation of the developmental and functional roles of steroids is crucial for its effective employment in this remit. Whilst oestrogens are known to be essential for female development in zebrafish, the roles of androgens in the development, maintenance and function of the male reproductive system remain unclear.In order to investigate these proces...

Background: An activation cascade of specific genes sets up the initiation of sex determination leading in males to testes formation and synthesis of testicular hormones. Disruption of this gene cascade may cause a spectrum of disorders/differences of sex development (DSD) phenotypes. Here we describe for the first time two sisters suffering from 46,XY DSD, who by whole exome sequencing were shown to carry a mutation in the X-linked StAR-related lipid transfer...

XY individuals with Disorders/Differences of Sex development (DSD) are characterized by reduced androgenization caused, in some children, by gonadal dysgenesis or, more rarely, testis regression during early fetal development. The genetic etiology for most patients with 46,XY gonadal dysgenesis and for all patients with testicular regression syndrome (TRS) is unknown. Identification of novel genes involved in DSD is crucial for providing an accurate clinical diagnosis, aiding ...

MYRF is known to regulate the myelination of the central nervous system and mice with a conditional deletion of MYRF in oligodendrocyte precursors has anomalies of motor skill. Recently, several loss-of-function and missense mutations in MYRF have been reported in association with syndromic forms of congenital heart disease (CHD) with elements of Scimitar syndrome and/or with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). In most 46,XY individuals a range of...

Background: Determination of the gonads in men is closely dependent on Sertoli cells differentiation and maturation. Many cases of differences of sex development (DSD) are caused by variations in these processes. The study of the mechanisms underlying these complex conditions is crucial for optimal clinical management and Sertoli cells would be an ideal model for this purpose. Our human Sertoli-like cell model (SLCs) may shed some light on the identification o...

Objective: AMH decreases by 30% in the first two years following puberty. Although it is known that AMH is associated with FSH and LH, the AMH response to rapid changes in GnRH is not known clearly in puberty. It has been shown that AMH levels in central precocious puberty (CPP) are lower than in premature thelarche (PT), but the levels of AMH in peripheral precocious puberty (PPP) have not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the basal an...