ESPE Abstracts

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: Short stature caused by point mutations or deletions of the short stature homeobox (SHOX) gene (SHOX haploinsufficiency, SHI) is a registered indication for growth hormone (GH) treatment. Patients with a SHOX enhancer deletion (SED) have a similar phenotype, but their response to GH is unknown. It is uncertain if duplications of SHOX or its enhancer (SDUP) can cause short stature.Objective and hypotheses: To describe the clinical characterist...

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=...

Background: Very tall people attract a lot of attention and represent a clinically and genetically heterogenous group of individuals. Identifying the genetic etiology can provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms regulating linear growth.Methods and Results: We studied a three-generation pedigree with several isolated (non-syndromic) tall members by whole exome sequencing; the tallest man had a height of 2...

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: Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is genetically mediated in up to 30% of cases. Many genes associated with POI have roles in early ovary developmental processes, including meiosis.Objectives: We investigated the genetic mechanism underlying early-onset POI in three young women presenting with absent puberty: two sisters from a consanguineous pedigree and a third unrelated proband.<st...

Background: Persistent Müllerian duct syndrome (PMDS) is a Disorder of Sex Development (DSD) caused by mutations in genes encoding anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) or its type II receptor (AMHR2) with autosomal recessive transmission. Objective: To report a case of transverse testicular ectopia (TTE), associated with PMDS, initially presented as an obstructed inguinal hernia.Case presentation: An 18- days- old male infant, wi...

Introduction: The metabolically healthy obese phenotype (MHOF) defines obese patients who have preserved insulin sensitivity and who do not have metabolic complications: lower risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in adulthood. Recent studies indicate that TMI (kg/m3) estimates the percentage of body fat more accurately than the BMI and it has been proposed to substitute the use of the BMI z-score values by those of the TMI. TMI values ...

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...