Variants of <i>STAR, AMH</i> and <i>ZFPM2/FOG2</i> May Contribute towards the Broad Phenotype Observed in 46,XY DSD Patients with Heterozygous Variants of <i>NR5A1</i>

oleh: Idoia Martínez de LaPiscina, Rana AA Mahmoud, Kay-Sara Sauter, Isabel Esteva, Milagros Alonso, Ines Costa, Jose Manuel Rial-Rodriguez, Amaia Rodríguez-Estévez, Amaia Vela, Luis Castano, Christa E. Flück

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-11-01

Deskripsi

Variants of <i>NR5A1</i> are often found in individuals with 46,XY disorders of sex development (DSD) and manifest with a very broad spectrum of clinical characteristics and variable sex hormone levels. Such complex phenotypic expression can be due to the inheritance of additional genetic hits in DSD-associated genes that modify sex determination, differentiation and organ function in patients with heterozygous <i>NR5A1</i> variants. Here we describe the clinical, biochemical and genetic features of a series of seven patients harboring monoallelic variants in the <i>NR5A1</i> gene. We tested the transactivation activity of novel <i>NR5A1</i> variants. We additionally included six of these patients in a targeted diagnostic gene panel for DSD and identified a second genetic hit in known DSD-causing genes <i>STAR</i>, <i>AMH</i> and <i>ZFPM2/FOG2</i> in three individuals. Our study increases the number of <i>NR5A1</i> variants related to 46,XY DSD and supports the hypothesis that a digenic mode of inheritance may contribute towards the broad spectrum of phenotypes observed in individuals with a heterozygous <i>NR5A1</i> variation.