Congenital Hyperinsulinism in Infants with Turner Syndrome: Possible Association with Monosomy X and KDM6A Haploinsufficiency

Abstract

Background: Previous case reports have suggested a possible association of congenital hyperinsulinism with Turner syndrome. Objective: We examined the clinical and molecular features in girls with both congenital hyperinsulinism and Turner syndrome seen at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) between 1974 and 2017. Methods: Records of girls with hyperinsulinism and Turner syndrome were reviewed. Insulin secretion was studied in pancreatic islets and in mouse islets treated with an inhibitor of KDM6A, an X chromosome gene associated with hyperinsulinism in Kabuki syndrome. Results: Hyperinsulinism was diagnosed in 12 girls with Turner syndrome. Six were diazoxide-unresponsive; 3 had pancreatectomies. The incidence of Turner syndrome among CHOP patients with hyperinsulinism (10 of 1,050 from 1997 to 2017) was 48 times more frequent than expected. The only consistent chromosomal anomaly in these girls was the presence of a 45,X cell line. Studies of isolated islets from 1 case showed abnormal elevated cytosolic calcium and heightened sensitivity to amino acid-stimulated insulin release; similar alterations were demonstrated in mouse islets treated with a KDM6A inhibitor. Conclusion: These results demonstrate a higher than expected frequency of Turner syndrome among children with hyperinsulinism. Our data suggest that haploinsufficiency for KDM6A due to mosaic X chromosome monosomy may be responsible for hyperinsulinism in Turner syndrome.