ESPE Abstracts

The majority of patients with Variations of Sex Development (VSD) lack a genetic diagnosis. Patients that are born with atypical chromosomal, gonadal, or phenotypical sex, present a wide spectrum of phenotypes that are often associated with ambiguous genitalia, infertility as well as increased susceptibility to testicular or ovarian cancer. Many different genetic causes of VSD have been reported [2], but for more than 50% [3] of all VSD patients, the molecular cause of their c...

Background/Introduction: Whole exome sequencing (WES) revolutionized clinical genetics in patients with differences of sex development (DSD). However, our ability to interpret WES data is limited by our incomplete understanding of the mechanisms involved in DSD. Thus, we created a methodology that scores potential candidates based on single cells transcriptomics of human male gonadal cells and applied it to WES data from a cohort of genetically male (46,XY) DS...

Drosophila melanogaster as a study model has already significantly contributed to the understanding of the mechanisms of many human diseases. So far D. melanogaster has rarely been exploited as a model for human sex development. Nanda et.al already demonstrated in 2009 that the Drosophila orthologue of SOX9, Sox100B is essential for testis development in Drosophila. Similarly, we could demonstrate that the fly homolog of STARD8, cv-c</...

Background: Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant genetic disorder characterized by retinal and central nervous system hemangioblastomas, pheochromocytomas and multiple cysts in the pancreas and kidneys, with increased risk of malignant degeneration.Case presentation: A 9-year-old boy with uncomplicated premorbid and family history presented with ice-cold hands and profuse night sweating on the he...

SOX3 is located on the X-chromosome (Xq27.1) and encodes a SRY-related protein that acts as a developmental transcription factor. Copy Number Variations (losses and gains), mutations of polyalanine stretches (deletions or expansions) and missense mutations of SOX3 have been associated with growth hormone deficiency with incomplete penetrance, hypogonadism, differences of sexual development and variable additional endocrine disorders (MIM #312000 and #300123)....

Background: Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by susceptibility to tumours including haemangioblastomas of retina and central nervous system, renal cell carcinoma and phaeochromocytomas. The disease is caused by mutations in the VHL tumour suppressor gene.Objective and hypotheses: We present an adolescent with VHL disease confirmed by genetic analysis which revealed the mutation p. A149P (PCC>GCC), which ...

Background: Acquired Von Willebrand's syndrome (aVWS) associated with hypothyroidism is rare in children and more often diagnosed during the peripubertal period in the context of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.Case presentation: A 5-year-old girl was referred to the paediatric haematology unit for rectal bleeding, anaemia, and prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time. Her developmental and learning skills were no...

In children, autoimmune thyroiditis is often diagnosed with signs and symptoms such as goiter, short stature, and constipation. Delayed diagnosis of hypothyroidism may result in atypical signs and symptoms at presentation, depending on the severity of hypothyroidism. Von Willebrand disease (vWD) is the most common bleeding disorder caused by the quantitative or qualitative deficiency of von Willebrand factor (vWF). Acquired vWD (avWD) is a disorder characterized by low levels ...

Introduction: Obesity as a chronic inflammatory disease is associated with impaired prothrombotic state leading to atherothrombosis. A variety of prothrombotic factors have been implicated in the pathophysiology of this phenomenon, especially the von Willebrand factor (vWF) produced in endothelium, megakaryocytes and subendothelial connective tissue. The aim of this study was to investigate any possible association between the new inflammatory marker chitinase 3-like protein 1...

Introduction: Von Hippel-Lindau disease(VHL) is an autosomal dominantly inherited tumor syndrome that predisposes to development benign and malignant tumors. The prevalence of VHL disease is one in 36,000, and the penetrance is higher than 90%. PCC occur in up to 20% of VHL patients. Classically, it is characterized by having an adrenal location, mostly bilateral and being derived from the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in the releases of catecholamines...