ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

In Brief: These authors identify a frameshift truncating variant in the gene SPIN4 (Spindlin member 4) in a patient with skeletal overgrowth, hepatosplenomegaly and macrocephaly. Using state-of-the-art mouse models and histone peptide arrays, they delineate the underlying pathogenic mechanism and show that SPIN4 positively regulates Wnt signalling by functioning as an epigenetic reader.Commentary: Generalized overgrowth disorders are ch...

Brief summary: This article shows that intra-cerebroventricular injections of a recombinant adeno-associated virus expressing MKRN3 resulted in delayed puberty in female mice.MKRN3 loss-of-function mutation is the most frequent cause of familial central precocious puberty (CPP) (1).These authors investigated the effect of MKRN3 overexpression on pubertal timing, by generating a mouse model of neonatal hypothalamic Mkrn3 ov...

Brief summary: This retrospective study describes a marked increase in the survival of children and youth living with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) in Tanzania, before (1991–2004), during (2005–2010) and after (2011–2019) implementation of the Life For A Child (LFAC) and Changing Diabetes in Children (CDiC) programs.This article focuses specifically on diabetes-related mortality. It offers both a message of hope and a candid examination o...

In Brief: The authors analysed data from the nationwide Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS) to estimate the heritability of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) as defined by DSM-5 criteria. Of the 16 951 twin pairs born between 1992 and 2010, 682 (2.0%) children were identified to have ARFID. By modelling shared risk in monozygous compared to dizygous twin pairs, they estimated the heritability of ARFID as 79% (95%CI, 70–85).<...

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Dec 1;105(12):dgaa633. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa633. PMID: 32898218.In this study, low risk pregnant women had an ‘early’ OGTT at 18-20 weeks of gestation and these results were correlated with the standard OGTT at 24-28 weeks. Pregnant women with Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) who had early OGTT still had a higher risk of delivering macrosomic in...

Matrix Biol. 2020 Aug;90:40–60 Abstract: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32173581/In brief: Mutations in 3-hydroxylation complex genes CRTAP and P3H1 cause osteogenesis imperfecta type VII and VIII, respectively. However, the pathogenic mechanism by which these mutations cause disease remains unclear. This study points to a defective chaperone role of the 3-h...

Clin Genet. 2020 Oct;98(4):402–407. 10.1111/cge.13816. PMID: 32683677.This short report describes two 46,XY siblings of consanguineous parents manifesting a complex syndrome consisting of multiple dysmorphic features including growth and developmental retardation, gastrointestinal disorders, musculoskeletal and cardiac anomalies, as well as ambiguous genitalia (non-palpable testes, micropenis, und...

Elife. 2021 Jan. 10:e59142. doi: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.59142.Brief Summary: The authors studied genetic mice models to show that pituitary stem cells can secrete WNT ligands to their committed progeny and promote their expansion.The anterior pituitary contains a population of Sox2 expressing stem cells (Sox2+ PSCs), which self-renew and give rise to lineage...

Eur Heart J. 2022 Mar 17:ehac112. PMID: 35296881, doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehac112.Brief Summary: This translational study explored the molecular and cellular mechanisms whereby testosterone impacts vascular function. The findings suggest that hypospadias is associated with vascular dysfunction and represents a risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease in adulthood due to impair...

Reprod Sci. 2022 Jan;29(1):260-269. PMID: 33788173, doi: 10.1007/s43032-021-00561-y. Brief Summary: This study from Israel investigated semen samples from 26 transgender girls aged 14-18 years and notes a general reduction in semen quality parameters. Fertility counselling is mandatory in all transgender adolescents prior to considering hormone interventions, but in ...