Exon 3-deleted/full-length growth hormone receptor polymorphism genotype frequencies in Spanish short small-for-gestational-age (SGA) children and adolescents (n = 247) and in an adult control population (n = 289) show increased fl/fl in short SGA.

CONTEXT: A polymorphism in the human GH receptor gene (d3/fl-GHR) resulting in genomic deletion of exon 3 has been associated with the degree of height increase in response to GH therapy. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to evaluate the frequencies of d3/fl-GHR polymorphism genotypes in control and short small-for-gestational-age (SGA) populations. DESIGN: An adult control population with heights normally distributed (ACPNH) between -2 and +2 sd score (SDS) and a short non-GH-deficient SGA child population were selected. SETTING: Thirty Spanish hospitals participated in the selection of the short non-GH-deficient SGA children in the setting of a controlled, randomized trial, and one of these hospitals selected the ACPNH. CONTROLS AND PATIENTS: Two hundred eighty-nine adult subjects of both sexes constituted the ACPNH and 247 children and adolescents of both sexes the short SGA patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Heights and weights were recorded in the ACPNH, and auxologic and biochemical data were recorded at each hospital for the SGA patients; d3/fl-GHR genotypes were determined and data analyzed in a single hospital. RESULTS: In short SGA patients, d3/fl-GHR genotype frequencies were significantly different from those in ACPNH, with a higher frequency of fl/fl genotype (P < 0.0001). In ACPNH, a trend toward diminished d3/d3 genotype frequency was observed in the shortest height group (height or=-2 SDS, n = 60). CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed significant differences in the frequency distribution of the d3/fl-GHR genotypes between a normally distributed adult height population and short SGA children, with the biologically less active fl/fl genotype being almost twice as frequent in SGA patients. These data suggest that the d3/fl-GHR polymorphism might be considered among the factors that contribute to the phenotypic expression of growth.

Human growth hormone (GH1) gene polymorphism map in a normal-statured adult population.

OBJECTIVE: GH1 gene presents a complex map of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the entire promoter, coding and noncoding regions. The aim of the study was to establish the complete map of GH1 gene SNPs in our control normal population and to analyse its association with adult height. DESIGN, SUBJECTS AND MEASUREMENTS: A systematic GH1 gene analysis was designed in a control population of 307 adults of both sexes with height normally distributed within normal range for the same population: -2 standard deviation scores (SDS) to +2 SDS. An analysis was performed on individual and combined genotype associations with adult height. RESULTS: Twenty-five SNPs presented a frequency over 1%: 11 in the promoter (P1 to P11), three in the 5'UTR region (P12 to P14), one in exon 1 (P15), three in intron 1 (P16 to P18), two in intron 2 (P19 and P20), two in exon 4 (P21 and P22) and three in intron 4 (P23 to P25). Twenty-nine additional changes with frequencies under 1% were found in 29 subjects. P8, P19, P20 and P25 had not been previously described. P6, P12, P17 and P25 accounted for 6.2% of the variation in adult height (P = 0.0007) in this population with genotypes A/G at P6, G/G at P6 and A/G at P12 decreasing height SDS (-0.063 +/- 0.031, -0.693 +/- 0.350 and -0.489 +/- 0.265, Mean +/- SE) and genotypes A/T at P17 and T/G at P25 increasing height SDS (+1.094 +/- 0.456 and +1.184 +/- 0.432). CONCLUSIONS: This study established the GH1 gene sequence variation map in a normal adult height control population confirming the high density of SNPs in a relatively small gene. Our study shows that the more frequent SNPs did not significantly contribute to height determination, while only one promoter and two intronic SNPs contributed significantly to it. Studies in larger populations will have to confirm the associations and in vitro functional studies will elucidate the mechanisms involved. Systematic GH1 gene analysis in patients with growth delay and suspected GH deficiency/insufficiency will clarify whether different SNP frequencies and/or the presence of different sequence changes may be associated with phenotypes in them.