ESPE Abstracts

Background: IGSF1 deficiency has been recently found to be a novel cause of x-linked central hypothyroidism, macroorchidism and delayed puberty.Case presentation: We present a family, in which the proband was diagnosed with congenital central hypothyroidism by neonatal screening and treated accordingly. Further pituitary examination revealed an unmeasurable prolactin level, normal IGF1, normal cortisol and no abnormalities of the pituitary on MRI. The pa...

Background: The immunoglobulin superfamily member 1 (IGSF1) gene encodes a plasma membrane glycoprotein enriched in pituitary and testes. Loss-of-function mutations in IGSF1 cause an X-linked syndrome of central hypothyroidism (CeH), macroorchidism, and delayed pubertal rise of testosterone despite normal timing of testicular growth. This syndrome was discovered in patients with CeH; therefore, it is presently unknown whether IGSF1 mutations also cau...

Background: Loss-of-function of immunoglobulin superfamily member 1 (IGSF1) results in an X-linked syndrome of central hypothyroidism and macroorchidism, variable prolactin deficiency, GH deficiency, increased fat percentage, and delayed puberty testosterone rise despite normal timing of testicular growth.Methods: We investigated the spatial and temporal expression of IGSF1 at the protein and mRNA levels in fetal, neonatal, and adult Wistar rats, using i...

Background: Measurement of testicular volume is important when conditions associated with a delay or advance in the onset of puberty, or micro- and macroorchidism, are suspected. Measured testicular volumes must be compared with reference data, preferably expressed in S.D. curves using the LMS method, as is routinely done for many auxological measurements in pediatrics. The current study therefore aimed to construct LMS-smoothed age-reference charts for testicul...

Background: Loss-of-function of immunoglobulin superfamily, member 1 (IGSF1) causes an x-linked syndrome of central hypothyroidism, macroorchidism, delayed pubertal testosterone rise, variable prolactin deficiency, and variable partial growth hormone deficiency in childhood. The clinical features and gene expression pattern suggest a pivotal role for IGSF1 in the pituitary, but detailed knowledge on pituitary hormone secretion in this syndrome is lacking.<p class=...

Introduction: Patients carrying homozygous IGF1 loss-of-function mutations are extremely rare and show severe pre- and postnatal growth failure, microcephaly, developmental delay, retrognathia and sensorineural deafness. Heterozygous variants in IGF1 appear to be more common in short stature, but only few cases have been reported in detail. Therefore, clinical features and growth response to recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) therapy are...

Background: Central hypothyroidism (CeH) is a rare thyroid hormone deficiency due to an insufficient stimulation of a normal thyroid gland. Candidate genes for isolated CeH include TSHβ, TRH receptor (TRHR) or IGSF1 genes while the combined pituitary hormone deficits (CPHDs) are the consequence of defects in embryonic pituitary transcription factors or in the prokineticin receptor 2 (PROKR2).Patients series: Here we report nine males (M) and 15 fema...

Objective: To describe clinical, laboratory and genetic characteristics of 42 short children from 34 consanguineous Turkish families.Design: Descriptive case series.Methods: After collecting clinical information, DNA samples were analysed in three European laboratories. In 18 children (12 families) suspected of a genetic defect in the growth hormone (GH)-insulin-like growth factor ...

Background: Congenital central hypothyroidism (CeH) may occur isolated, or in combination with other pituitary hormone deficiencies. Although a third causative gene for CeH was recently reported (IGSF1), the aetiology of isolated CeH has remained unexplained in most cases.Objective and hypotheses: We hypothesized that in three relatives with unexplained isolated CeH a mutation in another gene might be responsible for the phenotype.<p class="...

Introduction: Ghrelin binds to its receptor GHSR1A, encoded by GHSR, on somatotrophs of the pituitary. Growth hormone (GH) secretion is enhanced by ghrelin binding as well as the receptor’s constitutive activity. Results from in vitro experiments, knock-out mice, and GWAS suggest that heterozygous loss-of-function of GHSR may be associated with short stature, but observations in case studies are equivocal. We aimed to better ch...