<i>DHX37</i> and <i>NR5A1</i> Variants Identified in Patients with 46,XY Partial Gonadal Dysgenesis

oleh: Felipe Rodrigues de Oliveira, TaĆ­s Nitsch Mazzola, Maricilda Palandi de Mello, Ana Paula Francese-Santos, Sofia Helena V. de Lemos-Marini, Andrea Trevas Maciel-Guerra, Olaf Hiort, Ralf Werner, Gil Guerra-Junior, Helena Fabbri-Scallet

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-04-01

Deskripsi

The group of disorders known as 46,XY gonadal dysgenesis (GD) is characterized by anomalies in testis determination, including complete and partial GD (PGD) and testicular regression syndrome (TRS). Several genes are known to be involved in sex development pathways, however approximately 50% of all cases remain elusive. Recent studies have identified variants in <i>DHX37</i>, a gene encoding a putative RNA helicase essential in ribosome biogenesis and previously associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, as a cause of PGD and TRS. To investigate the potential role of <i>DHX37</i> in disorders of sexual development (DSD), 25 individuals with 46,XY DSD were analyzed and putative pathogenic variants were found in four of them. WES analyses were performed on these patients. In <i>DHX37</i>, the variant p.(Arg308Gln), recurrent associated with DSD, was identified in one patient; the p.(Leu467Val), predicted to be deleterious, was found together with an <i>NR5A1</i> loss-of-function variant in patient 2; and, the p.(Val999Met) was identified in two unrelated patients, one of whom (patient 3) also carried a pathogenic <i>NR5A1</i> variant. For both patients carrying <i>DHX37</i> and <i>NR5A1</i> pathogenic variants, a digenic inheritance is suggested. Our findings support the importance of <i>DHX37</i> variants as a cause of disorders of sex development, implying a role in testis development.