Ann Pediatr Endocrinol Metab.  2023 Sep;28(3):184-192. 10.6065/apem.2244152.076.

Clinical outcomes and genotype-phenotype correlations in patients with complete and partial androgen insensitivity syndromes

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center Children, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
  • 2Medical Genetics Center, Asan Medical Center Children, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Purpose
Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a rare X-linked recessive disorder caused by unresponsiveness to androgens because of mutations in the AR gene. Here, we investigated the clinical outcomes and molecular spectrum of AR variants in patients with AIS attending a single academic center.
Methods
This study included 19 patients with AIS who were confirmed by molecular analysis of AR. Clinical features and endocrinological findings were retrospectively collected, including presenting features, external genitalia, sex of rearing, timing of gonadectomy, pubertal outcomes, and sex hormone levels. Molecular analysis of AR was performed using Sanger, targeted gene panel, or whole-exome sequencing.
Results
Among all 19 patients, 14 (74%) were classified as having complete AIS (CAIS), whereas 5 (26%) had partial AIS (PAIS). All patients with CAIS, and 3 patients with PAIS were reared as female. One patient with CAIS manifested a mixed germ cell tumor at the age of 30 years. Molecular analysis of AR identified 19 sequence variants; 12 (63%) were previously reported, and the remaining 7 (37%) were novel. Missense mutations were the most common type (12 of 19, 63%), followed by small deletions, nonsense mutations, an insertion, and a splice site mutation.
Conclusion
Here, we describe the clinical outcomes and molecular characteristics of 19 Korean patients with AIS. Patients with PAIS manifested various degrees of masculinization of the external genitalia. Nonsense and frameshift mutations were frequent in patients with CAIS, whereas patients with PAIS harbored exclusively missense mutations.

Keyword

Androgen insensitivity syndrome; AR; Disorders of sex development

Figure

  • Fig. 1. Sex of rearing and pubertal outcomes of patients with androgen insensitivity syndrome. AIS, androgen insensitivity syndrome.

  • Fig. 2. Mutation spectrum of the AR gene. Molecular analysis of AR identified 19 mutations among 19 patients, including 7 novel sequence variants (bold). AIS, androgen insensitivity syndrome; NTD, N-terminal transactivation domain; DBD, DNA-binding domain; LBD, ligand-binding domain.


Reference

References

1. Hornig NC, Holterhus PM. Molecular basis of androgen insensitivity syndromes. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2021; 523:111146.
2. Hughes IA, Davies JD, Bunch TI, Pasterski V, Mastroyannopoulou K, MacDougall J. Androgen insensitivity syndrome. Lancet. 2012; 380:1419–28.
3. Bertelloni S, Dati E, Baroncelli GI, Hiort O. Hormonal management of complete androgen insensitivity syndrome from adolescence onward. Horm Res Paediatr. 2011; 76:428–33.
4. Boehmer AL, Brinkmann O, Brüggenwirth H, van Assendelft C, Otten BJ, Verleun-Mooijman MC, et al. Genotype versus phenotype in families with androgen insensitivity syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001; 86:4151–60.
5. Yong EL, Loy CJ, Sim KS. Androgen receptor gene and male infertility. Hum Reprod Update. 2003; 9:1–7.
6. Chang CY, McDonnell DP. Evaluation of ligand-dependent changes in AR structure using peptide probes. Mol Endocrinol. 2002; 16:647–60.
7. Gottlieb B, Beitel LK, Nadarajah A, Paliouras M, Trifiro M. The androgen receptor gene mutations database: 2012 update. Hum Mutat. 2012; 33:887–94.
8. Batista RL, Costa EMF, Rodrigues AS, Gomes NL, Faria JA Jr, Nishi MY, et al. Androgen insensitivity syndrome: a review. Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2018; 62:227–35.
9. Heo YJ, Ko JM, Lee YA, Shin CH, Yang SW, Kim MJ, et al. Two Korean girls with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome diagnosed in infancy. Ann Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2018; 23:220–5.
10. Lee SW, Kwak DS, Jung IS, Kwak JH, Park JH, Hong SM, et al. Partial androgen insensitivity syndrome presenting with gynecomastia. Endocrinol Metab. 2015; 30:226–30.
11. Lee KH, Lim YJ, Lee JS, Kim MS, Jo JH, Kim KR, editors. A case of complete androgen insensitivity syndrome with malignant mixed germ cell tumors. Korean J Obstet Gynecol. 2011; 54:701–6.
12. Choi JH, Kim GH, Seo EJ, Kim KS, Kim SH, Yoo HW. Molecular analysis of the AR and SRD5A2 genes in patients with 46,XY disorders of sex development. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2008; 21:545–53.
13. Kim JH, Kang E, Heo SH, Kim GH, Jang JH, Cho EH, et al. Diagnostic yield of targeted gene panel sequencing to identify the genetic etiology of disorders of sex development. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2017; 444:19–25.
14. Choi JH, Lee Y, Oh A, Kim GH, Yoo HW. Molecular characteristics of sequence variants in GATA4 in Patients with 46,XY disorders of sex development without cardiac defects. Sex Dev. 2019; 13:240–5.
15. Kim JH, Yun S, Hwang SS, Shim JO, Chae HW, Lee YJ, et al. The 2017 Korean National Growth Charts for children and adolescents: development, improvement, and prospects. Korean J Pediatr. 2018; 61:135–49.
16. Marshall WA, Tanner JM. Variations in the pattern of pubertal changes in boys. Arch Dis Child. 1970; 45:13–23.
17. Ahmed SF, Khwaja O, Hughes IA. The role of a clinical score in the assessment of ambiguous genitalia. BJU Int. 2000; 85:120–4.
18. Ahmed SF, Achermann JC, Arlt W, Balen A, Conway G, Edwards Z, et al. Society for Endocrinology UK guidance on the initial evaluation of an infant or an adolescent with a suspected disorder of sex development (Revised 2015). Clin Endocrinol. 2016; 84:771–88.
19. McLaren W, Gil L, Hunt SE, Riat HS, Ritchie GR, Thormann A, et al. The ensembl variant effect predictor. Genome Biol. 2016; 17:122.
20. Liu X, Wu C, Li C, Boerwinkle E. dbNSFP v3.0: a one-stop database of functional predictions and annotations for human nonsynonymous and splice-site SNVs. Hum Mutat. 2016; 37:235–41.
21. Richards S, Aziz N, Bale S, Bick D, Das S, Gastier-Foster J, et al. Standards and guidelines for the interpretation of sequence variants: a joint consensus recommendation of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Genet Med. 2015; 17:405–24.
22. Patel V, Casey RK, Gomez-Lobo V. Timing of gonadectomy in patients with complete androgen insensitivity syndromecurrent recommendations and future directions. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2016; 29:320–5.
23. Hannema SE, Scott IS, Rajpert-De Meyts E, Skakkebaek NE, Coleman N, Hughes IA. Testicular development in the complete androgen insensitivity syndrome. J Pathol. 2006; 208:518–27.
24. Cools M, Drop SL, Wolffenbuttel KP, Oosterhuis JW, Looijenga LH. Germ cell tumors in the intersex gonad: old paths, new directions, moving frontiers. Endocr Rev. 2006; 27:468–84.
25. Hughes IA, Houk C, Ahmed SF, Lee PA. Consensus statement on management of intersex disorders. Arch Dis Child. 2006; 91:554–63.
26. Deans R, Creighton SM, Liao LM, Conway GS. Timing of gonadectomy in adult women with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS): patient preferences and clinical evidence. Clin Endocrinol. 2012; 76:894–8.
27. Cools M, Looijenga LH, Wolffenbuttel KP, T'Sjoen G. Managing the risk of germ cell tumourigenesis in disorders of sex development patients. Endocr Dev. 2014; 27:185–96.
28. Barros BA, Oliveira LR, Surur CRC, Barros-Filho AA, Maciel-Guerra AT, Guerra-Junior G. Complete androgen insensitivity syndrome and risk of gonadal malignancy: systematic review. Ann Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2021; 26:19–23.
29. Lucas-Herald A, Bertelloni S, Juul A, Bryce J, Jiang J, Rodie M, et al. The long-term outcome of boys With partial androgen insensitivity syndrome and a mutation in the androgen receptor gene. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016; 101:3959–67.
30. Gottlieb B, Beitel LK, Trifiro MA. Variable expressivity and mutation databases: The androgen receptor gene mutations database. Hum Mutat. 2001; 17:382–8.
31. Nam H, Kim CH, Cha MY, Kim JM, Kang BM, Yoo HW. Polycystic ovary syndrome woman with heterozygous androgen receptor gene mutation who gave birth to a child with androgen insensitivity syndrome. Obstet Gynecol Sci. 2015; 58:179–82.
32. Wang F, Pan J, Liu Y, Meng Q, Lv P, Qu F, et al. Alternative splicing of the androgen receptor in polycystic ovary syndrome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015; 112:4743–8.
33. Peng CY, Xie HJ, Guo ZF, Nie YL, Chen J, Zhou JM, et al. The association between androgen receptor gene CAG polymorphism and polycystic ovary syndrome: a casecontrol study and meta-analysis. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2014; 31:1211–9.
34. Li Y, Qu S, Li P. A novel mutation of the androgen receptor gene in familial complete androgen insensitivity syndrome. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2015; 19:4146–52.
35. Deeb A, Mason C, Lee YS, Hughes IA. Correlation between genotype, phenotype and sex of rearing in 111 patients with partial androgen insensitivity syndrome. Clin Endocrinol. 2005; 63:56–62.
36. Beitel LK, Prior L, Vasiliou DM, Gottlieb B, Kaufman M, Lumbroso R, et al. Complete androgen insensitivity due to mutations in the probable alpha-helical segments of the DNA-binding domain in the human androgen receptor. Hum Mol Genet. 1994; 3:21–7.
37. Hiort O, Sinnecker GH, Holterhus PM, Nitsche EM, Kruse K. The clinical and molecular spectrum of androgen insensitivity syndromes. Am J Med Genet. 1996; 63:218–22.
38. Wang M, Wang J, Zhang Z, Zhao Z, Zhang R, Hu X, et al. Dissecting phenotypic variation among AIS patients. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2005; 335:335–42.
39. Audi L, Fernandez-Cancio M, Carrascosa A, Andaluz P, Toran N, Piro C, et al. Novel (60%) and recurrent (40%) androgen receptor gene mutations in a series of 59 patients with a 46,XY disorder of sex development. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010; 95:1876–88.
40. Kohler B, Lumbroso S, Leger J, Audran F, Grau ES, Kurtz F, et al. Androgen insensitivity syndrome: somatic mosaicism of the androgen receptor in seven families and consequences for sex assignment and genetic counseling. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005; 90:106–11.
41. Galani A, Sofocleous C, Karahaliou F, Papathanasiou A, Kitsiou-Tzeli S, Kalpini-Mavrou A. Sex-reversed phenotype in association with two novel mutations c.2494delA and c.T3004C in the ligand-binding domain of the androgen receptor gene. Fertil Steril. 2008; 90:2008.e1–4.
Full Text Links
  • APEM
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr