ESPE Abstracts

Puberty is a crucial biological process normally occurring at a specific time during the lifespan, during which sexual and somatic maturation are completed, and reproductive capacity is reached. Pubertal timing is not only determined by genetics, but also by endogenous and environmental cues, including nutritional and metabolic signals. During the last decade, we have learned much regarding the essential roles of kisspeptins and the neuropeptide pathways that converge on these...

Background: Primary ovarian failure (POF) is a major cause of female infertility. POF is characterized by amenorrhea, hypo-estrogenism and elevated gonadotrophin levels. In POF disorder, several genetic alterations have been described, however in most of the patients the etiology of this disorder remains unknown.Objective and hypotheses: To identify new genes implicated in the development of POF using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS).<p class="abstex...

Background: Loss-of-function mutations in the imprinted gene MKRN3 represent the most common known genetic defects associated with central precocious puberty (CPP). The penetrance of these mutations remains to be established. To date, all reported individuals with MKRN3 mutations were already in puberty or postpubertal and were identified retrospectively.Objective and hypotheses: To report the first case of a prepubertal child with an MKRN3 muta...

Background: Loss of imprinting has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several human diseases. Monogenic causes of central precocious puberty (CPP) were identified in families with loss-of-function mutations in two paternally expressed imprinted genes: Makorin zinc finger 3 (MKRN3) and Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1). The role of imprinting defects in CPP has not been described so far.Objective: To inves...

Background: Idiopathic central precocious puberty (CPP) is mostly described as an isolated entity. A few studies have shown its association with clinical syndromes and rare cases of chromosomal abnormalities.Objective: To clinically characterize patients with CPP, pointing out prevalent associated conditions and phenotypes.Patients and Methods: One hundred and forty-five patients with idiopathic CPP were retrospectively evaluated. ...

Background: We recently identified loss-of-function mutations in makorin ring finger 3 (MKRN3) as a cause of familial central precocious puberty (CPP). Analysis of Mkrn3 expression in the arcuate nucleus of mice showed high expression levels in juvenile mice, with a marked reduction prior to puberty onset, suggesting that MKRN3 inhibits puberty initiation. The function of MKRN3 is not known but based on its amino acid sequence, it is predicted to act as an ubiquitin l...

Background: Primary ovarian failure (POF) is a major cause of female infertility. POF is characterized by amenorrhea, hypo-estrogenism, and elevated gonadotrophin levels. In POF disorder, several genetic alterations have been described, however in most of the patients the etiology of this disorder remains unknown.Objective and hypotheses: To identify new genes implicated in the development of POF using whole-exome sequencing (WES)....

Background: The WDR11 gene was recently involved in the pathogenesis of isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH). In 2010, Kim et al. (1) identified five different heterozygous missense WDR11 rare variants in six of 201 IHH patients (five normosmic IHH and one Kallmann syndrome), which were absent in more than 400 controls. Animal studies demonstrated that WDR11 interacts with EMX1, a homeodomain transcription factor involved in the development of olfacto...

Background: Life expectancy of children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has increased due to highly active antiretroviral therapy. Metabolic disorders and changes in bone mineral density (BMD) are common in adult patients with HIV. There are few studies evaluating metabolic and bone involvement in children.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate metabolic disorders and BMD in vertically HIV-infected children in four Chilean hospitals.<p class="...

Background: Leydig Cell Hypoplasia (LCH) is a very rare autosomal recessive condition that is manifested by a wide spectrum of phenotypes, ranging from completely female external genitalia to male genitalia. Long-term outcome in these patients is unclear.Objectives: To assess sex assignment, clinical characteristics and long-term outcome of 46,XY LCH cases.Patients and Methods: Thr...