Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a rare X-linked recessive condition in which patients with 46,XY karyotype have a complete (CAIS) or partial (PAIS) impairment of pre- and postnatal virilization due to mutations in the androgen receptor (AR). We present a concise revision of AIS and the AR and report the clinical, hormonal and molecular study of 33 subjects with AIS. The coding region of the AR was analyzed in 33 subjects with clinical and hormonal characteristics that suggested AIS. Eleven […]

Gonadal dysgenesis comprises a clinical spectrum of anomalies in patients with female, ambiguous or male phenotype, absent or impaired puberty and karyotype with or without Y chromosome and/or chromosome markers. Although Y-specific sequences are seldom cytogenetically evident, dysgenetic gonads are potentially prone to developing tumors. Gonadoblastoma, a mixed germ cell and sex-cord cells tumor with variable degree of focal calcification, is the most harmful due to its frequency. Other gonadal tumor, maligns or not, also occur in gonadal dysgenesis. As […]

Many of the events that influence the process of normal sexual development have not been completely clarified, however it is well established that gonadal sex determination is responsible for sexual differentiation during fetal life. Several interacting genes participate in this process, and the most important are: SRY and DAX-1 genes located in the sexual chromosomes and the autosomic genes WT1, SF-1, and SOX9. The precise action of these genes on gonadal determination is yet to be clarified, but their participation […]