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Biomedical subjects

L Pinsky

Publications and source records attributed to L Pinsky.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Expression of androgen-responsive properties in human skin fibroblast strains of genital and nongenital origin.

Specific 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) binding capacity (Bmax) has been determined for human skin fibroblast strains from non-genital areas of males and females (N = 8), as well as prepuce and labium majus (N = 9). Genital strains had a mean three times that of non-genital ones (32 vs. 11 fmol/mg cell protein). There were no sex differences. Variation among strains was not simply correlated with donor age; that within strains was unrelated to in vitro age. The lowest values for genital strains overlapped the nongenital ones; those of the nongenital strains approached the limit of detectability. These results parallel those for delta4-3-ketosteroid 5alpha-reductase activity. Thus, serially cultured genital and nongenital skin fibroblasts express their relative differentiative ancestry as androgen target cells. This expression may affect the diagnosis of androgen insensitivity and certain inborn errors of metabolism; its variability is discussed in terms of clonal heterogeneity.

Age Factors↗

Specific 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone binding in labial skin fibroblasts cultured from patients.with male pseudohermaphroditism.

The cytoplasm of skin fibroblasts serially subcultured from the labium majus of normal human females binds 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (5alpha-DHT) with high affinity and low capacity. Such binding was absent from the strains of two male pseudohermaphrodites with unambiguous female external genitalia: one of these was from a patient with the clinical features and a family history typical of complete testicular feminization; the other merited the same diagnosis on anatomic and endocrine grounds, but had an XYY karyotype in multiple tissues, including the testes. Normal cytoplasmic binding was found in strains from two prepubertal male pseudohermaphrodites with bilateral inguinal testes: one had unambiguous female external genitalia, the other had clitoromegaly; the former had normal specific nuclear binding of 5alpha-DHT, and thereby the target cell capacity for pubertal masculinization. Measurement of specific 5alpha-DHT binding by cultured labial skin fibroblasts should be an early step in the investigation of male pseudohermaphroditism with female external genitalia.

Adolescent↗

Male pseudohermaphroditism presumably due to target organ unresponsiveness to androgens. Deficient 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone binding in cultured skin fibroblasts.

Maximum specific 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) binding activity (Bmax) had been measured in intact confluent monolayers representing fibroblast strains derived form nongenital and genital (labium majus) skin of normal individuals and of 11 patients fulfilling the clinicogenetic criteria of complete testicular feminization (TF). Nine labium majus strains from adult females had a mean Bmax value three times greater than that of seven nongenital strains from adult females (33 vs. 11 fmol/mg cell protein). The Bmax results for 13 adult nongenital strains varied from 5.6 to 23.3 fmol/mg protein; the values for males and females had very similar means and ranges. The variation could not be correlated with the chronologic age of adult skin explant donors or with the in vitro age (mean population doubling level) of the cultures assayed. The Bmax activities of three nongenital strains from normal infants (two male, one female) did not exceed 5 fmol/mg protein. Seven of eight nongenital TF strains had Bmax values below 2 fmol/mg protein; the value for the eighth coincided with the lower limit of normal adults. The lower limit of DHT binding in normal labium majus strains was 15 fmol/mg protein. Three of five labial strains from patients with TF had Bmax values close to zero; the other two fell between 10 and 15 fmol/mg protein. It is apparant that labial skin fibroblast strains from clinically homogeneous patients with TF had highly variable degrees of DHT binding deficiency, and that they permit a more reliable diagnosis of severe and intermediate degrees of DHT binding deficiency than do strains of nongenital skin fibroblasts.

Adolescent↗

The community of human malformation syndromes that shares ectodermal dysplasia and deformities of the hands and feet.

Syndromes of human congenital malformation may be classified be recognizing communities of syndromes that share multiple phenotypic similarities involving their principal diagnostic features. A community of syndromes that shares various expressions of ectodermal dysplasia and various deformities of the hands and feet is proposed; these syndromes are divisible into two classes according to the presence or absence of anomalies in the nasal or labial regions of the face. The dysmorphogenetic validity of the division is supported by the fact that the syndromes without nasal or labial anomalies have a high frequency of sensorineural deafness as one expression of ectodermal dysplasia whereas those without such anomalies do not. The usefulness of such a syndromal community as a base for evolving a taxonomic scheme of dysmorphogenetic relatedness amongst different syndromes is illustrated.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with dementia: a second canadian family.

A family with adult-onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and dementia is described. The father presented with lower motor neurone disease affecting the legs. A son presented with bulbar paralysis. Neither developed dementia. A daughter presented with spastic right lower limb weakness. Two years later, she developed a rapidly progressive mental disorder. Her cortical pathology had a distinctive fronto-temporal distribution. The rarity of published reports on ALS with dementia in families outside the Western Pacific and the factor of parental consanguinity conspired to make genetic counseling for this family difficult.

Adult↗