ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

To read the full abstract: Endocrinology. 2019;160:1363–1376.Pregnancy-associated plasma protein A2 (PAPP-A2) is a metalloproteinase which, by cleaving IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-5, releases free IGF-I from the ternary complexes and regulates its bioavailability. PAPPA2 gene mutations (p.D643fs25* and p.Ala1033Val) have recently been described in various members of two unrelated fam...

To read the full abstract: Hum Mol Genet. 2017 Nov 15;26(22):4315-4326These two papers describe the association of heterozygous FOXA2 mutations with hypopituitarism and hyperinsulinism. The forkhead/winged helix transcription factor Foxa2 is a major upstream regulator of Pdx1, a transcription factor necessary for pancreatic development and also plays a role in the developmental biology of the pituit...

To read the full abstract: Am J Med Genet A. 2016 Nov;170(11):2927-2933The vast majority of proteins that a cell secretes or displays on its surface first enter the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where they fold and assemble. Only properly assembled proteins advance from the ER to the cell surface. The ER coordinates protein biosynthetic and secretory activities in the cell. Alterations in ER homeost...

To read the full abstract: Diabetes Care. 2017;40:849-855Coping strategies for people with chronic diseases include working on risk factors as well as using and employing resilience factors in daily coping strategies. Both strengthes and difficulties may be experienced by people with T1DM. In this study, strengths were strongly related to key resilient outcomes, even in the presence of well-documente...

Nat Neurosci. 2021 Dec;24(12):1660-1672. doi: 10.1038/s41593-021-00960-z. Epub 2021 Nov 18. PMID: 34795451. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-021-00960-zBrief Summary: This neuroanatomical and physiological study in mice demonstrates that GnRH neurons attract glial cells in their vicinity via cell–cell communication...

Brief summary: A newly developed mouse model of congenital ablation of Dicer in kisspeptin neurons was used to identify a role for miRNAs in kisspeptin neuron activity and control of reproduction.The last few years have seen a shift in paradigm with the discovery of epigenetic mechanisms regulating GnRH neuron activity and thus puberty and reproduction. In particular, miRNAs appear to play a crucial role in the maturation and function of the hypothalamic...

Brief summary: This study identified nitric oxide synthase 1 (NOS1) heterozygous missense variants in 6 patients with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Altered minipuberty and puberty as well as cognitive impairment were observed in NOS1 deficient mice.Nitric oxide (NO) is produced under the control of NO synthase in hypothalamic neurons. NO plays a crucial role in regulating gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion, acting as a strong inhibitory sig...

Clin Genet. 2020 Sep;98(3):303-307. doi: 10.1111/cge.13805. PMID: 32617964.In this case series, David et al. describe clinical features of 4 patients in 2 unrelated consanguineous families with TTC26 ciliopathy due to a homozygous c.695A>G p.Asn232Ser mutation. Three of the patients had MRI findings consistent with pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS), a congenital anomaly o...

Cell Rep. 2021 Apr 13;35(2):108981. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108981. PMID: 33852861.Mutations in the promotor region of the insulin gene are associated with a subtype of neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM). These mutations lead to abnormal transcription of the insulin gene and do so by deleting the C1 and E1 cis regulatory elements, or three different single base-pair substitutions in ...

Nat Commun. 2021 Jun 7;12(1):3355. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23661-4.This study describes the interaction of individual genetic variation for autoimmune thyroid disease with risk of thyroid immune related adverse events (irAE) during or after immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment for advanced cancer.ICIs are monoclonal antibodies blocking T-cell exhaustion and...