Abstract

Infertility classified as idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) is characterized by delayed or absent sexual maturation and low sex steroid levels due to alterations in neuroendocrine control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. The incidence of IHH is 1-10 cases per 100,000 births. Although extensive efforts have been invested in identifying genes giving rise to IHH, >50% of cases have unknown genetic origins. We recently showed that haploinsufficiency of ventral anterior homeobox 1 (Vax1) leads to subfertility, making it a candidate in polygenic IHH. In this study, we investigate the mechanism by which VAX1 controls fertility finding that VAX1 is required for maintenance of Gnrh1 gene expression and deletion of Vax1 from GnRH neurons leads to complete infertility.

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