Objective:
Congenital hypopituitarism (CH) is a rare disease characterized by one or more hormone deficiencies of the pituitary gland. To date, many genes have been associated with CH. In this study, we identified the allelic variant spectrum of 11 causative genes in Turkish patients with CH.
Materials and methods:
This study included 47 patients [21 girls (44.6%) and 26 boys (55.4%)] from 45 families. To identify the genetic etiology, we screened 11 candidate genes associated with CH using next-generation sequencing. To confirm and detect the status of the specific familial variant in relatives, Sanger sequencing was also performed.
Results:
We identified 12 possible pathogenic variants in
GHRHR, GH1
,
GLI2, PROP-1
,
POU1F1
, and
LHX4
in 11 patients (23.4%), of which six were novel variants: two in
GHRHR
, two in
POU1F1
, one in
GLI2
, and one in
LHX4
. In all patients, these variants were most frequently found in
GLI2
, followed by
PROP-1
and
GHRHR
.
Conclusion:
Genetic causes were determined in only 23.4% of all patients with CH and 63% of molecularly diagnosed patients (7/11) from consanguineous families. Despite advances in genetics, we were unable to identify the genetic etiology of most patients with CH, suggesting the effect of unknown genes or environmental factors. More genetic studies are necessary to understand the etiology of CH.