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Free access

Whole-exome sequencing gives additional benefits compared to candidate gene sequencing in the molecular diagnosis of children with growth hormone or IGF-1 insensitivity

Lucy Shapiro, Sumana Chatterjee, Dina G Ramadan, Kate M Davies, Martin O Savage, Louise A Metherell, and Helen L Storr

Background

GH insensitivity (GHI) is characterised by short stature, IGF-1 deficiency and normal/elevated serum GH. IGF-1 insensitivity results in pre- and post-natal growth failure with normal/high IGF-1 levels. The prevalence of genetic defects is unknown.

Objective

To identify the underlying genetic diagnoses in a paediatric cohort with GH or IGF-1 insensitivity using candidate gene (CGS) and whole-exome sequencing (WES) and assess factors associated with the discovery of a genetic defect.

Methods

We undertook a prospective study of 132 patients with short stature and suspected GH or IGF-1 insensitivity referred to our centre for genetic analysis. 107 (96 GHI, 88 probands; 11 IGF-1 insensitivity, 9 probands) underwent CGS. WES was performed in those with no defined genetic aetiology following CGS.

Results

A genetic diagnosis was discovered 38/107 (36%) patients (32% probands) by CGS. WES revealed 11 patients with genetic variants in genes known to cause short stature. A further 2 patients had hypomethylation in the H19/IGF2 region or mUPD7 consistent with Silver–Russell Syndrome (total with genetic diagnosis 51/107, 48% or 41/97, 42% probands). WES also identified homozygous putative variants in FANCA and PHKB in 2 patients. Low height SDS and consanguinity were highly predictive for identifying a genetic defect.

Conclusions

Comprehensive genetic testing confirms the genetic heterogeneity of GH/IGF-1 insensitivity and successfully identified the genetic aetiology in a significant proportion of cases. WES is rapid and may isolate genetic variants that have been missed by traditional clinically driven genetic testing. This emphasises the benefits of specialist diagnostic centres.

Free access

Clinical and genetic heterogeneity of HNF4A/HNF1A mutations in a multicentre paediatric cohort with hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia

Sinéad M McGlacken-Byrne, Jasmina Kallefullah Mohammad, Niamh Conlon, Diliara Gubaeva, Julie Siersbæk, Anders Jørgen Schou, Huseyin Demirbilek, Antonia Dastamani, Jayne A L Houghton, Klaus Brusgaard, Maria Melikyan, Henrik Christesen, Sarah E Flanagan, Nuala P Murphy, and Pratik Shah

Objective

The phenotype mediated by HNF4A/HNF1A mutations is variable and includes diazoxide-responsive hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia (HH) and maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY).

Design

We characterised an international multicentre paediatric cohort of patients with HNF4Aor HNF1Amutations presenting with HH over a 25-year period (1995–2020).

Methods

Clinical and genetic analysis data from five centres were obtained. Diazoxide responsiveness was defined as the ability to maintain normoglycaemia without intravenous glucose. Macrosomia was defined as a birth weight ≥90th centile. SPSS v.27.1 was used for data analysis.

Results

A total of 34 patients (70.6% female, n  = 24) with a mean age of 7.1 years (s.d. 6.4) were included. A total of 21 different heterozygous HNF4Amutations were identified in 29 patients (four novels). Four different previously described heterozygous HNF1A mutations were detected in five patients. Most (97.1%, n  = 33) developed hypoglycaemia by day 2 of life. The mean birth weight was 3.8 kg (s.d. 0.8), with most infants macrosomic (n = 21, 61.8%). Diazoxide was commenced in 28 patients (82.3%); all responded. HH resolved in 20 patients (58.8%) following a median of 0.9 years (interquartile range (IQR): 0.2–6.8). Nine patients (n = 9, 26.5%) had developmental delay. Two patients developed Fanconi syndrome (p.Arg63Trp, HNF4A) and four had other renal or hepatic findings. Five (14.7%) developed MODY at a median of 11.0 years (IQR: 9.0–13.9). Of patients with inherited mutations (n = 25, 73.5%), a family history of diabetes was present in 22 (88.0%).

Conclusions

We build on the knowledge of the natural history and pancreatic and extra-pancreatic phenotypes of HNF4A/HNF1Amutations and illustrate the heterogeneity of this condition.

Free access

The prevalence and characteristic features of cyclicity and variability in Cushing's disease

Krystallenia I Alexandraki, Gregory A Kaltsas, Andrea M Isidori, Scott A Akker, William M Drake, Shern L Chew, John P Monson, G Michael Besser, and Ashley B Grossman

Objective

Cyclical Cushing's syndrome may render the diagnosis and management of Cushing's disease difficult. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of cyclicity and variability in patients with Cushing's disease, and to identify putative distinctive features.

Design

Retrospective case-note study.

Methods

We analysed the case records of 201 patients with Cushing's disease in a retrospective case-note study. Cyclicity was considered as the presence of at least one cycle, defined as a clinical and/or biochemical hypercortisolaemic peak followed by clinical and biochemical remission, followed by a new clinical and/or biochemical hypercortisolaemic peak. The fluctuations of mean serum cortisol levels, as assessed by a 5-point cortisol day curve, defined the variability.

Results

Thirty (14.9%; 26 females) patients had evidence of cyclicity/variability. ‘Cycling’ patients were older but no difference in sex or paediatric distribution was revealed between ‘cycling’ and ‘non-cycling’ patients. The median number of cycles was two for each patient, and 4 years was the median intercyclic period. A trend to lower cure rate post-neurosurgery and lower adenoma identification was observed in ‘cycling’ compared with ‘non-cycling’ patients. In multivariate analysis, older patients, longer follow-up, female sex and no histological identification of the adenoma were associated with an increased risk of cyclic disease.

Conclusions

This large population study reveals that cyclicity/variability is not an infrequent phenomenon in patients with Cushing's disease, with a minimum prevalence of 15%. Physicians should be alert since it can lead to frequent problems in diagnosis and management, and no specific features can be used as markers.

Restricted access

Do insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) modulate the IGF-I growth promoting and differentiating effects in human neuroblastoma cells?

Stefano Cianfarani, Daniela Germani, Paola Rossi, Anna Spagnoli, and Delio Mercanti

Cianfarani S, Germani D, Rossi P, Spagnoli A, Mercanti D. Do insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) modulate the IGF-I growth promoting and differentiating effects in human neuroblastoma cells? Eur J Endocrinol 1996;135:716–23. ISSN 0804–4643

The insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are known to stimulate both the proliferation and differentiation of neuroblastoma cells, but the role of the IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) has not yet been established. In this study, human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells have been treated with IGF-I and its potent analogue des (1–3) IGF-I alone or following preincubation with a differentiating agent such as 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Cell proliferation and differentiation were evaluated. Conditioned medium was tested for the presence of IGFBPs by ligand blotting. The SH-SY5Y cell proliferation was maximally stimulated by des (1–3) IGF-I. The TPA-induced differentiation of SH-SY5Y, evaluated by assessment of cell morphology and GAP-43 expression as a biochemical marker of differentiation, was potentiated by nanomolar concentrations of des (1–3) IGF-I and, to a smaller extent, IGF-I. Conditioned medium showed the presence of a major IGFBP band with an approximate molecular weight of 32.5 kD and a very faint band of approximately 24 kD. The IGFBP immunoblotting results suggest that the predominant band might represent IGFBP-2. Our data represent a first demonstration of the presence of IGFBPs in conditioned medium of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. The finding that the potent IGF-I analogue des (1–3) IGF-I with reduced affinity for IGFBPs induce major effects on cell growth and differentiation suggests that the IGFBPs may play an active role in the neuronal response to the proliferative and differentiative effects of IGF-I.

Stefano Cianfarani, Laboratory of Paediatric Endocrinology, Department of Paediatrics, "Tor Vergata" University, via di Tor Vergata 135, 00133 Rome, Italy

Restricted access

Effects of high dose oestrogen and testosterone treatment in adolescents upon trabecular and compact bone measured by 125I computed tomography. A preliminary study

Gerhard Ulrich Exner, Andrea Prader, Urs Elsasser, and Max Anliker

Abstract.

125I Computed Tomography (CT) allows for the selective determination of trabecular and compact bone mineral parameters in the radius. Using this technique the effects of high dose oestrogen treatment in 11 tall girls, and of high dose testosterone treatment in 5 tall boys were monitored. In both groups trabecular bone density (TBD) increased steadily during treatment at a rate of about 1% per month. Also in both groups the compact bone mineral increased steadily. These results are compared with those from a cross sectional study on 49 normal children and 36 normal adults, in whom TBD was found to be independent of age and sex, so that the increases in TBD in both treatment groups can be attributed directly to the influence of the sex hormones. Since the compact bone mineral is higher in adults than in children it cannot yet be decided whether the increases seen in the treated patients are related to the sex hormone treatment, or reflect only the normal development of the bone during adolescence.

Free access

Distribution of the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance in Mexican children and adolescents

Celia Aradillas-García, Martha Rodríguez-Morán, María Eugenia Garay-Sevilla, Juan Manuel Malacara, Ramón Alberto Rascon-Pacheco, and Fernando Guerrero-Romero

Objective

Several cutoff points of the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR; varying from 2.5 to 4.0) have been suggested for diagnosing IR in youth. In this study, we determined the distribution of the HOMA-IR in Mexican children and adolescents.

Design and methods

A total of 6132 children and adolescents from San Luis Potosi, León, Queretaro, and Durango, which are cities in central and northern Mexico, were enrolled in a population-based cross-sectional study. Eligible participants were apparently healthy children and adolescents aged 6–18 years. Pregnancy and the presence of chronic illnesses were exclusion criteria.

Results

A total of 3701 (60.3%) girls and 2431 (39.7%) boys were included in this study. In the overall population, the mean body mass index, insulin levels, and fasting glucose levels were 21.8±1.3 kg/m2, 7.1±3.2 μU/ml, and 86.2±10.0 mg/dl respectively. The concentrations of insulin and fasting glucose gradually increased from 6 to 12 years of age, whereas the concentrations tended to plateau in the 13- to 18-year-old population. The absolute mean of the HOMA-IR was 2.89±0.7. The HOMA-IR gradually increased with age and reached a plateau at 13 years of age.

Conclusions

Because the insulin concentrations, glucose levels, and HOMA-IR exhibited a gradual increase with age that was not related to obesity, our results suggested that the evaluation of IR in children should be based on percentiles of the HOMA-IR rather than a dichotomous value derived from a single cutoff point.

Free access

BMI percentile-for-age overestimates adiposity in early compared with late maturing pubertal children

Kaspar Sørensen and Anders Juul

Objective

Early pubertal timing is consistently associated with increased BMI percentile-for-age in pubertal girls, while data in boys are more ambiguous. However, higher BMI percentile-for-age may be a result of the earlier puberty per se rather than vice versa. The aim was to evaluate markers of adiposity in relation to pubertal timing and reproductive hormone levels in healthy pubertal boys and girls.

Study design

Population-based cross-sectional study (The Copenhagen Puberty Study). Eight-hundred and two healthy Caucasian children and adolescents (486 girls) aged 8.5–16.5 years participated. BMI and bioelectric impedance analyses (BIA) were used to estimate adiposity. Clinical pubertal markers (Tanner stages and testicular volume) were evaluated. LH, FSH, estradiol, testosterone, SHBG and IGF1 levels were determined by immunoassays.

Results

In all age groups, higher BMI (all 1 year age-groups, P≤0.041) was found with early compared with late maturation, despite similar BIA–estimated body fat percentage (BIA–BF%). Neither BMI nor BIA–BF% differed for a given stage of maturation. BMI percentile-for-age and prevalence of overweight/obesity were higher in the early compared with late matured pubertal children (all P≤0.038), despite similar BIA–BF%. Pubertal girls with BIA–BF >29% had significantly lower LH and FSH levels compared with normal-weight girls (P≤0.041).

Conclusions

Early maturational timing was not associated with higher adiposity for a given stage of puberty. Using BMI percentile-for-age overestimated the degree of adiposity in early pubertal compared with late pubertal children.

Free access

Sex 'n' drugs 'n' rock 'n' roll: the meaning and social consequences of pubertal timing

A Waylen and D Wolke

This is a brief review of the normal changes in adolescent behaviour and the interplay between biology and social factors that occur at and around puberty, in an attempt to explain when this transition may become problematic The onset of puberty is a biological marker for an individual's transition from a non-reproductive to a reproductive state. Adolescence is a normal developmental transition associated with clearly visible physical changes, reorganization and pruning of neuronal circuits in the brain and the occurrence of new behaviours and interests. It is a time when new life tasks (orientation towards peers of the other sex, romantic and sexual involvement and mastering an educational career) need to be mastered. Parent-child conflict increases and becomes more intense as the adolescent struggles for more independence while still requiring support. These normal changes can become problematic if biological and social expectations diverge e.g. entering puberty very early or very late. While early pubertal onset in boys is likely to have beneficial effects, in girls precocious pubertal timing may have a negative impact on body-image, affect (or emotional well-being) and sex-role expectations. Other individual biological predispositions and genetic endowment may interact with social factors (e.g. peers, parenting style, neighbourhood) making adolescence either an adaptive or a challenging transition. There is a lack of sufficiently large longitudinal studies that have been able to study this interaction between genetics, biology and social environment on adolescent development. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort provides a unique opportunity to investigate the impact of pubertal timing on social behaviour. Planned assessments and concepts are outlined.

Free access

Acylation stimulating protein but not complement C3 associates with metabolic syndrome components in Chinese children and adolescents

Ponce Cedric Fouejeu Wamba, Jie Mi, Xiao-Yuan Zhao, Mei-Xian Zhang, Yu Wen, Hong Cheng, Dong-Qing Hou, and Katherine Cianflone

Objective

Childhood obesity is increasing worldwide and is increasingly associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Our aim was to examine acylation stimulating protein (ASP) and its precursor complement C3, in normal, overweight, and obese Chinese children and adolescents, and the relationships with body size, blood parameters, pubertal development, family environment, and MetS.

Methods

Children and adolescents (n=1603) from 6 to 18 years, boys (n=873) and girls (n=730), including normal weight (n=603), overweight (n=291) and obese (n=709) were assessed for body size parameters, pubertal development, blood lipids, glucose, insulin, ASP, and C3.

Results

ASP levels were increased in overweight and obese versus normal weight (P<0.001), while C3 showed little variation. This effect of overweight/obesity remained throughout early stages when boys and girls were separated by pubertal development or age, although age and pubertal status itself had no effect. Separation based on ASP quintiles demonstrated significant associations with blood cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-Chol), glucose, insulin, and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance in boys, and LDL-Chol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and glucose in girls. A positive correlation with mother's body mass index in boys and girls (P=0.002 and P=0.014 respectively) as well as birth weight (P<0.001) was noted. MetS was strongly associated with increased ASP, the presence of a single MetS factor (especially hypertension, central obesity, or hyperglycemia) was associated with increased ASP.

Conclusion

Changes in the plasma adipokine ASP in early obesity are associated with blood lipid and glucose modifications, family environment, and distinct MetS risk factors.

Free access

Adult height of prepubertal short children born small for gestational age treated with GH

Myriam Rosilio, Jean-Claude Carel, Emmanuel Ecosse, and Jean-Louis Chaussainon

Group-author : on behalf of the 0908 Lilly Study Group

Objective: Human GH (hGH) treatment leads to catch-up growth in children with short stature born small for gestational age (SGA). However, long-term efficacy and safety results in this patient group remain scarce. The present study assessed the efficacy and safety of late childhood treatment with biosynthetic hGH (Humatrope) in a group of short children born SGA (height <−2 standard deviation scores (SDS)).

Design: Patients in this open-label, Phase III, multicenter study received a daily hGH dose of 0.067 mg/kg for 2 years, and then received no treatment for the following 2 years. After the fourth year on study, patients whose height had decreased more than 0.5 SDS but who still showed growth potential based on bone age were allowed to resume treatment until they reached adult height.

Methods: Height gain SDS was assessed for 11 girls and 24 boys (mean age±s.d. 9.6±0.9 years) at the end of the 2 years of hGH treatment, during the subsequent 2-year off-treatment period, and upon reaching adult height.

Results: At the end of the initial 2-year treatment period, 83% of patients had reached a height within the normal range, with a mean increase in height SDS vs baseline of 1.3±0.3 (P <0.001). Adult heights (n = 20) were within the normal range for 50% of patients, and mean height gain from baseline was statistically significant (0.7±0.8 SDS, P <0.001). Fasting glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels were not significantly modified during treatment.

Conclusions: High-dose hGH treatment for a minimum of 2 years in short children born SGA was well tolerated and resulted in a significant increase in adolescent and adult height.