Mutational analysis of Hungarian patients with androgen insensitivity syndrome.

Objective: To support the clinical diagnosis of androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), we performed mutational analysis of the androgen receptor gene.

Design: Clinical, hormonal and molecular genetic data of ten undervirilized genetic male patients living in Hungary were recorded.

Methods: PCR-based single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis was used to study the whole coding region of the androgen receptor gene. Direct fluorescent sequencing was applied when aberrant migration was detected by SSCP.

Results: Five different mutations were identified in five unrelated genetic male patients with abnormal sexual differentiation. One of these mutations was novel, while the other four mutations have been described previously in the literature. One of the mutations identified earlier in individuals with sporadic AIS showed a familial inheritance pattern in our study group. No abnormality of the androgen receptor gene was identified in three patients clinically suspected to have partial AIS.

Conclusion: Application of molecular techniques helped to clarify the diagnosis in patients with disorders of male sexual differentiation.