1.Genetic analysis of gonadotropin-gonadal axis in boys: a twin study.
Wei WANG ; Chengye JI ; Zengchang PENG ; Yepeng YANG ; Tianjiao CHEN ; Hongjuan LI ; Xiaohai ZHAN ; Ying WANG ; Yonghua HU
National Journal of Andrology 2004;10(4):250-252
OBJECTIVETo analyse the heritabilities of serum luteinizing hormone(LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) in twin boys, and to study the genetic contributions to gonadotropin-gonadal axis.
METHODSA total of 51 pairs of male twins, 35 monozygotic (MZ) and 16 dizygotic(DZ) aged 5 to 11 years, were investigated. Serum gonadotropin and sex hormone were measured by radioimmunoassay. The twin zygosity was verified by determination of short tandem repeat amplified fragment length polymorphism systems. The genetic analysis was performed using intraclass correlation coefficient method.
RESULTSThe intraclass correlation coefficient was greater in the MZ twins than in the DZ twins. The estimated heritabilities were respectively LH 0.51, FSH 0.32, T 0.81, E2 0.41.
CONCLUSIONGenetic factors are major determinants of gonadotropin-gonadal axis in boys.
Child ; Child, Preschool ; Gonadal Steroid Hormones ; blood ; Gonadotropins ; blood ; Humans ; Male ; Radioimmunoassay