Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Hartsfield syndrome (#OMIM 615465) describes the rare co-occurrence of holoprosencephaly with ectrodactyly, associated with a spectrum of developmental defects including specific pituitary dysfunction.Case report: Our patient, a male infant, had several congenital abnormalities: bilateral cleft lip and palate, right sided microtia, bilateral ectrodactyly of the hands and feet and semilobar holoprosencephaly. Aged 5 weeks he was noted to be ...

Background: Triple A syndrome is a rare, autosomal recessive cause of adrenal insufficiency. Additional features include alacrima, achalasia of the oesophageal cardia, and neurodegenerative disease in 60%. The AAAS gene product is the nuclear pore complex protein ALADIN of unknown function. AAAS patient dermal fibroblasts have been described as hypersensitive to oxidative stress1,2,3.Objective: To establish a better disease model by kno...

Background: Triple A Syndrome is a rare, autosomal recessive cause of adrenal failure that usually manifests in the first decade. Most cases have isolated glucocorticoid deficiency, but this is accompanied by mineralocorticoid deficiency in approximately 10% of cases. Additional features include alacrima (~90%), achalasia of the oesophageal cardia (~75%), and a progressive neurodegenerative process (~60%). The AAAS gene product is the nuclear pore complex protein ALADIN...

Introduction: Triple A syndrome is a rare, autosomal recessive cause of adrenal failure that usually manifests in the first decade. Most cases have isolated glucocorticoid deficiency, but this is accompanied by mineralocorticoid deficiency in ~10%. Additional features include alacrima (~90%), achalasia of the oesophageal cardia (~75%), and a progressive neurodegenerative process (~60%). The AAAS gene product is the nuclear pore complex protein ALADIN of unknown function...

Introduction: Chromosome 18 rearrangements are postulated to be associated with short stature, of uncertain pathophysiology.Methods: Retrospective case review (short stature with chromosome 18 rearrangement), investigation for GH deficiency (peak GH <7 μg/l on glucagon or ITT, unless otherwise indicated) and determining response to GH treatment.Results: In 13 year six such cases were referred from the geneticists, mean ref...

Introduction: Sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase (SGPL1) catalyses the final step in sphingolipid metabolism, irreversibly degrading the lipid signalling molecule sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). The relative abundance of S1P compared to its precursors sphingosine and ceramide finely tunes signal transduction for a wide range of cellular pathways including proliferation, apoptosis, migration and calcium handling. Loss-of-function mutations in SGPL1 cause a spectrum of disorders, incl...

Triple A syndrome (AAAS), a rare and debilitating autosomal recessive disorder. It is characterised by adrenal failure, alacrima and achalasia; ~70% patients develop a neurodegeneration. The AAAS gene encodes ALADIN, a nuclear pore complex (NPC) protein necessary for the selective nuclear import of DNA protective molecules and is important for cellular redox homeostasis. ALADIN’s role is not fully characterised: its discovery at the centrosome and the endoplasmic...

Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) is a rare reproductive disorder that results in a lack of normal pubertal development and reduced potential for fertility in adult life. The condition is characterised by low circulating sex steroid concentrations resulting from a deficiency of pituitary gonadotropin production. HH may be congenital or acquired, most commonly due to tumour or treatment for malignant disease. When associated with anosmia it is termed Kallmann syndrome. HH is a...

Sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase 1 insufficiency syndrome (SPLIS) is a multisystemic syndrome in which primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) and steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome predominate, secondary to loss-of-function mutations in SGPL1 (sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase). SGPL1 carries out the irreversible breakdown of sphingosine-1-phosphate, a bioactive sphingolipid intermediate, with implicated roles in various cellular processes. Wider endocrinopathy including gonadal insuf...

Background: SGPL1 carries out the final degradative step of the sphingolipid pathway, irreversible cleavage of sphingosine-1-phopshate. SGPL1 deficiency is associated with a pathological accumulation of sphingolipid species and a multi-systemic condition incorporating primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI). Sphingolipid intermediates, ceramide and sphingosine are postulated to act as modulators of the steroidogenic pathway, acting as second messengers altering downstream expressi...