Copy Number Variation in Patients with Disorders of Sex Development Due to 46,XY Gonadal Dysgenesis

White, S; Ohnesorg, T; Notini, A; Roeszler, K; Hewitt, J; Daggag, H; Smith, C; Turbitt, E; Gustin, S; van den Bergen, J; Miles, D; Western, P; Arboleda, V; Schumacher, V; Gordon, L; Bell, K; Bengtsson, H; Speed, T; Hutson, J; Warne, G; Harley, V; Koopman, P; Vilain, E; Sinclair, A

Author(s): White, S; Ohnesorg, T; Notini, A; Roeszler, K; Hewitt, J; Daggag, H; Smith, C; Turbitt, E; Gustin, S; van den Bergen, J; Miles, D; Western, P; Arboleda, V; Schumacher, V; Gordon, L; Bell, K; Bengtsson, H; Speed, T; Hutson, J; Warne, G; Harley, V; Koopman, P; Vilain, E; Sinclair, A;
Details: Publication Year 2011-03-07,Volume 6,Issue #3,Page e0017793
Journal Title: PLOS ONE
Publication Type: Journal Article
Abstract: Disorders of sex development (DSD), ranging in severity from mild genital abnormalities to complete sex reversal, represent a major concern for patients and their families. DSD are often due to disruption of the genetic programs that regulate gonad development. Although some genes have been identified in these developmental pathways, the causative mutations have not been identified in more than 50% 46,XY DSD cases. We used the Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0 to analyse copy number variation in 23 individuals with unexplained 46, XY DSD due to gonadal dysgenesis (GD). Here we describe three discrete changes in copy number that are the likely cause of the GD. Firstly, we identified a large duplication on the X chromosome that included DAX1 (NR0B1). Secondly, we identified a rearrangement that appears to affect a novel gonad-specific regulatory region in a known testis gene, SOX9. Surprisingly this patient lacked any signs of campomelic dysplasia, suggesting that the deletion affected expression of SOX9 only in the gonad. Functional analysis of potential SRY binding sites within this deleted region identified five putative enhancers, suggesting that sequences additional to the known SRY-binding TES enhancer influence human testis-specific SOX9 expression. Thirdly, we identified a small deletion immediately downstream of GATA4, supporting a role for GATA4 in gonad development in humans. These CNV analyses give new insights into the pathways involved in human gonad development and dysfunction, and suggest that rearrangements of non-coding sequences disturbing gene regulation may account for significant proportion of DSD cases.
Publisher: PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
Keywords: DEPENDENT PROBE AMPLIFICATION; SRY-RELATED GENE; CAMPOMELIC DYSPLASIA; TRANSLOCATION BREAKPOINTS; DETERMINATION REVEALS; TESTIS DETERMINATION; KB UPSTREAM; ARRAY-CGH; SOX9; MUTATIONS
Research Division(s): Bioinformatics
Publisher's Version: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017793
Open Access at Publisher's Site: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3049794/
Terms of Use/Rights Notice: Copyright White et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Documents: journal.pone.0017793.pdf - (0.42MB, application/pdf)

Creation Date: 2011-03-07 12:00:00