ESPE Abstracts

Background: Androgens are steroid hormones necessary for human sex development. Testosterone (T) and the more potent dihydrotestosterone (DHT) are maybe the best known androgens, which exert their effect by binding and activating the androgen receptor. Steroid reductases 5α (SRD5As) catalyse the conversion of T to DHT in the classic androgen production pathway, or from 17-hydroxyprogesterone to 17OH-dihydroprogesterone, and androstenedione to androstanedione in alternate ...

Background: Recent work revealed two pathways in androgen biosynthesis, namely the classic and an alternative, the backdoor pathway. In this alternative pathway dihydrotestosterone is produced from 17-hydroxyprogesterone without the intermediacy of testosterone using mostly enzymes that are specific to the backdoor path. In the human ovary, regulation of androgen production plays a crucial role in normal physiology and in pathologies such as the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS...

Background: Inhibin consists of two homologous subunits, the α (INHA) and the βA or βB subunits (INHBA/INHBB). Both inhibins play an important role in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis by regulating the follicle stimulating hormone levels. INHA knockout mice develop mixed or incompletely differentiated gonadal stromal tumours. In females, some INHA variants have been associated with primary ova...

Background: The steroidogenic enzyme aromatase is encoded by the CYP19A1 gene. Aromatase activity is required for estrogen biosynthesis from androgen precursors in the ovary and several extragonadal tissues. The role of aromatase and thus estrogens for human biology is best illustrated by disease states, both deficiency and excess which might be caused by genetic disorders.Aim: A novel deletion-insertion mutation spanning from intron 10 to the 3...

Background: An individual’s chronotype, or preference in the timing of sleep or food intake, may have metabolic implications. Late chronotype has been associated with higher body mass index (BMI) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in adults and greater BMI, portion sizes, and lower HDL cholesterol levels in adolescents.Objective and hypothesis: To examine associations between chronotype and risk factors for type 2 diabetes in children ages 10–13 years....

Background: Congenital isolated ACTH-deficiency is a rare disorder characterized by low plasma ACTH and cortisol levels and normal secretion of other pituitary hormones. TBX19 is a t-box transcription factor with a specific role in the differentiation of corticotroph cells. TPIT gene mutations can be found in early onset isolated ACTH deficiency.Case report: We report on a 2; 6 year old girl, offspring from consanguineous parents from Turkey, born at 40 ...