GENETIC DISORDERS OF PITUITARY DEVELOPMENT IN PATIENTS WITH SHEEHAN'S SYNDROME.

INTRODUCTION: Genetic disorders associated with the development of the pituitary gland and cranial bones may cause a genetic tendency toward Sheehan's syndrome (SS). Our aim in this study was to investigate expression disorders in the genes responsible for the development of the pituitary gland and cranial bones in patients with SS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-four patients who were previously diagnosed with SS and 43 healthy women were compared in terms of the mean expression values of genes including the prophet of PIT-1 (PROP1), HESX homeobox 1 (HESX1), POU class 1 homeobox 1 (POU1F1), LIM homeobox 3 (LHX3), LHX4, glioma-associated oncogene homolog 2 (GLI2), orthodenticle homeobox 2 (OTX2), SIX homeobox 3 (SIX3), SIX6, T-box transcription factor 19 (TBX19), transducin-like enhancer protein 1 (TLE1), TLE3, distal-less homeobox 2 (DLX2), DLX5, MSH homeobox 2 (MSX2), and paired box 3 (PAX3). RESULTS: The mean expression values of the HESX1, TLE1, TLE3, and MSX2 genes were significantly different in the SS group from the healthy control group, while the mean expression values of the remaining genes were similar. CONCLUSION: The present study concludes that abnormal expressions of HESX1, TLE1, TLE3, and MSX2 genes may cause a genetic predisposition to the development of SS.

Is there any association between childhood cardiac septal defects and ROCK2 gene polymorphism?

Rho/Rho-kinase pathway plays a critical role in the regulation of cellular functions such as proliferation and migration. One of the possible theories of the development of ventricular septal defects is cell migration disorder. The aim of this study was to analyze the genotype distributions and allele frequencies for the ROCK2 gene Thr431Asn polymorphisms in the development of cardiac septal defects in a Turkish population. In this case-control study, 300 patients with cardiac defects (150 patients with ventricular and 150 patients with atrial septal defects) and control group (150 healthy control subjects) were investigated. A single-nucleotide polymorphism in ROCK2 gene Thr431Asn was analyzed by real-time PCR using a Light-Cycler. Neither genotype distributions nor the allele frequencies for the Thr431Asn polymorphism showed a significant difference between the groups. These results suggest that there is no association of the ROCK2 gene Thr431Asn polymorphism with the development of cardiac septal defects in pediatric patients.