Clinical and molecular genetic analysis for 7 patients from 5 pedigrees with 17α-hydroxylase/17, 20 lyase deficiency

Objective To investigate the clinical and genetic characteristics of 7 patients from 5 families with 17α-hydroxylase/17, 20 lyase deficiency (17OHD) and the CYP17A1 mutation in Chinese. Methods Clinical features and laboratory data were collected from 5 families with 17OHD. PCR direct sequencing was performed to screen the mutation of CYP17A1 gene of the patients. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP) and sequencing were performed to screen the mutations of CYP17A1 gene in 288 healthy individuals from Shandong province. Results Seven patients (5 of them were 46, XX; 2 were 46, XY) had typical clinical presentation of sexual infantilism, hypertension and hypokalemia. Hormone profile indicated decreased plasma cotisol and sex hormones, and elevated blood adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). TAC329AA and H373L in exon 6 and D487_ F489del in exon 8 were identified from the patients. One heterozygote for D487_F489del was identified in 288 healthy controls. Conclusion The TAC329AA and D487_F489del of the CYP17A1 gene were the most frequent mutations in Chinese with 17OHD. There might be certain frequency of heterozygotes for D487_ F489del in Chinese population.