ESPE Abstracts

Background: Androgen Insensitivity syndrome (AIS), the most common cause of XY DSD, is an X-linked recessive allelic disorder caused by Androgen Receptor (AR) gene mutations. The complete form (CAIS) stems from abrogation of AR activity and is characterized by an external female phenotype and scarce pubic hair, as well as lack of Mullerian structures. Postnatal gonadotropin and testosterone levels are not increased, and the classical ‘Mini-puberty’...

Background: Woodhouse-Sakati syndrome (WSS) is an extremely rare autosomal recessive multisystem disease. Ectodermal system findings, such as alopecia and changes in facial skin, endocrinological problems including hypogonadism, hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus (DM), and decreased levels of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), neurological disorders such as hearing loss and progressive extrapyramidal involvement are the components of this syndrome. The syndr...

Background: Diseases of sex development (DSD) are rare heterogeneous disorders ranging from infertility (an estimated 15% of couples worldwide have difficulty conceiving), to severe cases including ambiguous genitalia, sex reversal, and gonadal dysgenesis. The genetic basis of DSD remains unknown in 50% of the severe cases. To identify novel genetic causes of DSD, we are investigating patients in which known causative genes have been excluded. Identifying new ...

Background: Patients with NNT (Nicotinamide Nucleotide Transhydrogenase) gene mutations, a rare cause of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid deficiency. Adrenal Rest Tumor (ART) in females, reported so far only in noncompliant patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia and elevated ACTH levels, is very rare (<20 cases world-wide). This study characterizes the pathophysiology, the molecular ontogeny and methylation analysis of a unique ART in a female wit...

Background: Primary ovarian failure is (POF) characterised by primary amenorrhoea or early menopause in females. Minichromosome maintenance 10 (MCM10) is a gene involved in DNA damage repair, DNA replication and chromatin formation has received attention as a potential genetic etiology for neoplastic disease. Drosophila with mutated MCM10 have subfertility and dysfunction in female germline development. In humans, biallelic mutations of the MCM10 causes NK cel...

Background: Severe Ovarian Dysgenesis (OD), a rare heterogeneous XX disorder of Sex Development (XX-DSD) presents clinically with primary amenorrhea, hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism and infertility. The genetic basis of OD remains unknown in about 70% of cases. To identify novel causes of OD, we study patients in which known genes have been excluded.Methods: Whole-exome-sequencing was performed on DNA extracted from peri...

Background: Severe Ovarian Dysgenesis (OD), a rare heterogeneous XX disorder of Sex Development presents clinically with primary amenorrhea, hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism and infertility. The genetic basis of OD remains unknown in 70% of cases. To identify novel causes of OD, we study patients in which known genes have been excluded.Methods: Whole-exome-sequencing was performed in a 14.5y old Ashkenazi Jewish, non-cons...

Background: Severe XX-DSD and ovarian dysgenesis (OD) are the extreme clinical phenotype of approximately 1% of women that are affected by primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). BMP15 and GDF9 are two members of transforming growth factor ß (TGF-β) superfamily; they share an oocyte-specific expression pattern and play a crucial role in early folliculogenesis. Only XX cases of mutations in BMP15 have been proved to cause human disease. Here we describe...

Background: Information on sex hormone levels in young children is currently lacking, because those levels are generally below the lower limit of quantitation of conventional immunoassay methods. We investigated sex differences in serum levels of sex hormones in relation to upstream hormones and other background factors in young children, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 151 chil...