ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Androgens are essential for the development of male sex characteristics. Testosterone (T) production from androstenedione (A) by the Hydroxysteroid 17-Beta Dehydrogenase 3 (HSD17B3) in gonadal Leydig cells triggers the differentiation of the Wolffian ducts into epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicles and the prostate. Shortly after, the virilisation of the external male genitalia starts through the conversion of T into dihydrotestosterone (DHT...

Background: Homozygotes for the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs242941 and rs1876828 of the corticotrophin-releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1) gene were previously associated with lower stimulated and basal cortisol levels respectively in asthmatic children on inhaled corticosteroids. Heterozygotes for rs41423247 of the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) gene were found to have higher basal cortisol levels.Objectives</stro...

Background: Individuals born with a 45,X/46,XY karyotype can present with diverging phenotypes from normal male, Turner-like to ambiguous genitalia, the latter classically being called mixed gonadal dysgenesis. No correlation between phenotype and degree of mosaicisms in the karyotype could be ascertained so far, making clinical management of these patients difficult.Objective: To understand, if androgen action through the androgen receptor (AR) is compr...

Background: In a large fraction of patients with clinically presumed Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, no mutation of the Androgen Receptor gene can be detected. However, established Sanger sequencing techniques of the AR gene are often limited to the coding region.Objective and Hypotheses: To set up a next generation sequencing (NGS) approach of the entire AR locus (including UTRs, exons, introns, up- and downstream regions) for a comprehensive ...

Background and objective: Given phenotype variability as well as limited utility of conventional endocrine investigations in reaching the diagnosis in a 46,XY patient suspected of a disorder of sex development (DSD), there is an increasingly stronger argument for considering targeted genetic sequencing at an earlier stage of the evaluation process. This study focused on identifying the relationship between clinical examination, endocrine and radiological assessment, as well as...

Background: Steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1), denominated as nuclear receptor subfamily five group A member 1 (NR5A1), is an orphan receptor that regulates several steps of adrenal and gonadal development. Mutations in its gene are responsible for different phenotypes of disorders of sex development (DSD).Objective and hypotheses: To study the functional impact of two novel NR5A1 mutations, the p.C247* and p.K396Rfs*34, both identified within the l...

Introduction: The diagnosis of a disorder/difference of sexual development (dsd) is an exceptional psychosocial situation. As the diagnosis is often made in childhood, the parents are the primary communication partners. In some cases, the impossibility of immediate sex determination of the child can be a traumatic experience with a negative impact on the relationship between the parents and the child, the couple and members of the entire family. It has been recommended by the ...

Background: Recent data describe that the gonads of patients with partial gonadal dysgenesis (PGD) and mutation in the NR5A1 gene can present with a different histological pattern.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate histological aspects of PGD caused by NR5A1 mutations.Method: Five patients with PGD, a history of gonadal biopsy or gonadectomy and confirmed mutation on NR5A1 gene were selected from a Bra...

Turner syndrome is linked to the absence or abnormality of one of the X chromosome leading to haplo-insufficiency of genes involved in the development and maintenance of the ovarian stock in women. The purpose of this study was to establish the clinical, hormonal, cytogenetic and evolutive pattern of Uzbek population with Turner syndrome and to search for correlations between genotype and phenotype. We examined 149 Uzbek girls with Shereshevsky-Turner syndrome aged from 3 mont...

Currently, the majority of patients with DSD do not have a molecular diagnosis. Although high throughput sequencing is having an impact on the clinical diagnosis of DSD the accurate interpretation genomic datasets of the identification of new gene mutations causing DSD is challenging. This is due to emerging evidence that DSD may be caused by mutations in many different genes and the prevalence of mutations in a single gene may be very low. As larger number of DSD patients are...