Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0039483 (giant cell arteritis)
 3,204 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Severe 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3betaHSD) deficiency is a rare form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia resulting from mutations in the HSD3B2 gene that impair steroidogenesis in both the adrenals and gonads and cause salt-wasting in both sexes and incomplete masculinization of the external genitalia in genetic males. About two thirds of the reported patients are 46,XY. We describe two French-Canadian patients from two families without a known relationship who presented with severe salt-wasting 3betaHSD deficiency in infancy. Although the diagnosis was considered clinically, plasma steroid profiles were confusing. We have thus directly sequenced DNA fragments generated by PCR amplification of the four exons, exon-intron boundaries, and the 5'-flanking regions of the HSD3B2 gene. Sequencing of exon II revealed the presence of a C to A transversion in both alleles of these two cases, thus converting codon 10 (GCA), which codes for Ala, into GAA, encoding Glu. This Ala is highly conserved in the vertebrate 3betaHSD gene family and is located in the putative NAD-binding domain of the enzyme. The mutant type II 3betaHSD enzyme carrying an A10E substitution exhibited no detectable activity in intact transfected Ad293 cells. Both homozygous patients share the same haplotype, spanning approximately 3.3 centimorgans surrounding the HSD3B2 locus, which is consistent with a founder effect for this missense mutation. The 46,XY patient presented with ambiguous genitalia at birth and underwent normal masculinization at puberty, but was azoospermic at 18.5 yr of age. The 46,XX patient presented progressive breast development, menarche, and evidence of progesterone secretion. The only previously reported cases with pubertal follow-up revealed paternity in one male and hypogonadism in one female. These findings demonstrate the complex relationships between the genotype and the gonadal phenotype in severe 3betaHSD deficiency and the difficulty in predicting fertility.
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PMID:A novel A10E homozygous mutation in the HSD3B2 gene causing severe salt-wasting 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase deficiency in 46,XX and 46,XY French-Canadians: evaluation of gonadal function after puberty. 1084 83

Hypogonadism has traditionally been classified as either hypogonadotropic or hypergonadotropic based on serum gonadotropin levels. However, when hypothalamic suppression of GnRH secretion occurs, it can mask an underlying hypergonadotropic state. In this report we document the unusual case of a 61-yr-old man with androgen insensitivity and coincidental functional hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH). Although functional HH is not a well-recognized entity in the male, major stress has been reported to cause transient suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in men. The patient in question was noted to have undervirilization, minimal pubertal development, hypogonadal testosterone, and low gonadotropin levels consistent with congenital HH during a hospital admission for myocardial infarction. However, the patient had also had surgery for hypospadias, a clinical feature not typically part of the phenotypic spectrum of congenital HH. We therefore hypothesized that the combination of acute stress and chronic glucocorticoid administration for temporal arteritis induced transient HH in a patient with a disorder of sexual differentiation in whom gonadotropin levels would have otherwise been elevated. Using clinical, molecular, and genetic studies, the patient was found to have partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS) caused by a novel mutation (Ser(740)Cys) in the ligand-binding domain of the androgen receptor. Subsequent studies of the patient confirmed the characteristic gonadotropin and sex steroid abnormalities of PAIS. We describe for the first time a patient with PAIS presenting with a reversible hypogonadotropic biochemical profile triggered by an acute illness and corticosteroid therapy. This case highlights the necessity for caution when interpreting gonadotropin levels during acute stress.
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PMID:Acute stress masking the biochemical phenotype of partial androgen insensitivity syndrome in a patient with a novel mutation in the androgen receptor. 1500 85