ESPE Abstracts

Background and Objectives: Offspring born to obese mothers are at an increased risk of chronic disease including type 2 diabetes (T2D), obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease (CVD), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). This metabolic programming is produced, in part, by epigenetic changes such us DNA methylation. We postulated that obesity exposure impacts the offspring's methylome and used an epigenomic approa...

Background: Low birth-weight and unfavourable intrauterine conditions are associated with a subsequent impact on the endocrine system. Many studies reported hyperandrogenaemia and precocious adrenarche in children born small for gestational age (SGA). However, little information is available on steroid profiles in these subjects.Objective and Hypotheses: We followed genetically identical twins with intra-twin birth-weigh...

Iodine is an essential dietary micronutrient required for thyroid hormone synthesis and neurodevelopment in utero. Evidence of iodine insufficiency among British women is of particular concern in the context of pregnancy. The Mothers and Babies at Yorkhill (MABY) study is a Glasgow-based longitudinal cohort study assessing the iodine and thyroid status of pregnant women and their offspring.Pregnant women were recruited from antenatal clinics (20...

Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a complex heterogeneous disease affecting 1 in 40.000 newborns. Recurrent hypoketotic hypoglycaemia led to permanent mental and motor disabilities in 30-40% of children. Histologically three types had been differentiated: focal, diffuse and atypical. Up to now, only focal-type CHI can be permanently cured by focus removal. Focal-type CHI is characterized by paternal inherited mutation of ABCC8 or KCNJ11 mutations. Therefore mutation anal...

The zebrafish is established as an important model system for studying development and disease, and characterisation of the developmental and functional roles of steroids is crucial for its effective employment in this remit. Whilst oestrogens are known to be essential for female development in zebrafish, the roles of androgens in the development, maintenance and function of the male reproductive system remain unclear.In order to investigate these proces...

Background: An activation cascade of specific genes sets up the initiation of sex determination leading in males to testes formation and synthesis of testicular hormones. Disruption of this gene cascade may cause a spectrum of disorders/differences of sex development (DSD) phenotypes. Here we describe for the first time two sisters suffering from 46,XY DSD, who by whole exome sequencing were shown to carry a mutation in the X-linked StAR-related lipid transfer...

XY individuals with Disorders/Differences of Sex development (DSD) are characterized by reduced androgenization caused, in some children, by gonadal dysgenesis or, more rarely, testis regression during early fetal development. The genetic etiology for most patients with 46,XY gonadal dysgenesis and for all patients with testicular regression syndrome (TRS) is unknown. Identification of novel genes involved in DSD is crucial for providing an accurate clinical diagnosis, aiding ...

MYRF is known to regulate the myelination of the central nervous system and mice with a conditional deletion of MYRF in oligodendrocyte precursors has anomalies of motor skill. Recently, several loss-of-function and missense mutations in MYRF have been reported in association with syndromic forms of congenital heart disease (CHD) with elements of Scimitar syndrome and/or with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). In most 46,XY individuals a range of...

Background: Determination of the gonads in men is closely dependent on Sertoli cells differentiation and maturation. Many cases of differences of sex development (DSD) are caused by variations in these processes. The study of the mechanisms underlying these complex conditions is crucial for optimal clinical management and Sertoli cells would be an ideal model for this purpose. Our human Sertoli-like cell model (SLCs) may shed some light on the identification o...

Objective: AMH decreases by 30% in the first two years following puberty. Although it is known that AMH is associated with FSH and LH, the AMH response to rapid changes in GnRH is not known clearly in puberty. It has been shown that AMH levels in central precocious puberty (CPP) are lower than in premature thelarche (PT), but the levels of AMH in peripheral precocious puberty (PPP) have not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the basal an...