This Consensus Statement covers recommendations for the diagnosis and management of patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) and related disorders, which comprise metabolic disorders characterized by physical findings that variably include short bones, short stature, a stocky build, early-onset obesity and ectopic ossifications, as well as endocrine defects that often include resistance to parathyroid hormone (PTH) and TSH. The presentation and severity of PHP and its related disorders vary between affected individuals with considerable clinical and molecular overlap between the different types. A specific diagnosis is often delayed owing to lack of recognition of the syndrome and associated features. The participants in this Consensus Statement agreed that the diagnosis of PHP should be based on major criteria, including resistance to PTH, ectopic ossifications, brachydactyly and early-onset obesity. The clinical and laboratory diagnosis should be confirmed by a molecular genetic analysis. Patients should be screened at diagnosis and during follow-up for specific features, such as PTH resistance, TSH resistance, growth hormone deficiency, hypogonadism, skeletal deformities, oral health, weight gain, glucose intolerance or type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypertension, as well as subcutaneous and/or deeper ectopic ossifications and neurocognitive impairment. Overall, a coordinated and multidisciplinary approach from infancy through adulthood, including a transition programme, should help us to improve the care of patients affected by these disorders.

Objective: Disorders caused by impairments in the parathyroid hormone (PTH) signalling pathway are historically classified under the term pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP), which encompasses rare, related and highly heterogeneous diseases with demonstrated (epi)genetic causes. The actual classification is based on the presence or absence of specific clinical and biochemical signs together with anin vivoresponse to exogenous PTH and the results of anin vitroassay to measure Gsa protein activity. However, this classification disregards other related diseases such as acrodysostosis (ACRDYS) or progressive osseous heteroplasia (POH), as well as recent findings of clinical and genetic/epigenetic background of the different subtypes. Therefore, the EuroPHP network decided to develop a new classification that encompasses all disorders with impairments in PTH and/or PTHrP cAMP-mediated pathway.Design and methods: Extensive review of the literature was performed. Several meetings were organised to discuss about a new, more effective and accurate way to describe disorders caused by abnormalities of the PTH/PTHrP signalling pathway.Results and conclusions: After determining the major and minor criteria to be considered for the diagnosis of these disorders, we proposed to group them under the term ‘inactivating PTH/PTHrP signalling disorder’ (iPPSD). This terminology: (i) defines the common mechanism responsible for all diseases; (ii) does not require a confirmed genetic defect; (iii) avoids ambiguous terms like ‘pseudo’ and (iv) eliminates the clinical or molecular overlap between diseases. We believe that the use of this nomenclature and classification will facilitate the development of rationale and comprehensive international guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of iPPSDs.

Context: The two main subtypes of pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP), PHP-Ia and -Ib, are caused by mutations in GNAS exons 1-13 and methylation defects in the imprinted GNAS cluster, respectively. PHP-Ia patients show Albright hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO) and resistance toward PTH and additional hormones, whereas PHP-Ib patients do not have AHO, and hormone resistance appears to be limited to PTH and TSH. Recently, methylation defects have been detected in few patients with PHP and mild AHO, indicating a molecular overlap between the two forms. Objectives: The aim of the study was to screen patients with clinically diagnosed PHP-Ia for methylation defects and to investigate the presence of correlations between the molecular findings and AHO severity. Patients and Methods: We investigated differential methylation of GNAS regions and STX16 microdeletions in genomic DNA from 40 patients with sporadic AHO and multihormone resistance, with no mutations in Gsα-coding GNAS exons. Results: Molecular analysis showed GNAS cluster imprinting defects in 24 of the 40 patients analyzed. No STX16 deletion was detected. The presence of imprinting defects was not associated with the severity of AHO or with specific AHO signs. Conclusions: We report the largest series of the literature of patients with clinical AHO and multihormone resistance and no mutation in the Gsα gene. Our findings of frequent GNAS imprinting defects further confirm the existence of an overlap between molecular and clinical features of PHP-Ia and PHP-Ib and highlight the necessity of a new clinical classification of the disease that takes into account the recent knowledge on the molecular basis underlying these defects.

A subset of over-expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) identified in parathyroid carcinomas (Ca) compared to normal glands belongs to C19MC, a cluster on chromosome 19q13.4 involved in stem cell biology and tumourigenesis. In this study, the expression of C19MC–MIR371–3 clusters and the molecular mechanisms presiding their modulation were investigated in a series of six normal parathyroids, 24 adenomas (Ad), 15 Ca and five matched metastases. The general expression levels of C19MC or MIR371–3 clusters in Ad lesions did not differ from normal glands, while they distinguished Ad from Ca at unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis (P=0.0008). MIR517C showed the most significant difference in expression between Ca and Ad (P=0.0003) and it positively correlated with serum calcium, parathormone and tumour weight. In regard to the molecular mechanism determining C19MC cluster activation, we could detect C19MC copy number (CN) gain in ten Ca (67%) extending distal to the MIR371–3 cluster in almost all samples. Conversely, only four Ad (16%) showed C19MC amplification, with one case presenting distal genomic aberration to MIR371–3. Globally, CN variations of 19q13.4 loci were significantly associated with MIR517C up-regulation (P=0.006). Opposite to normal glands where C19MC promoter was methylated, hypomethylation occurred in 15 out of 30 analysed tumours. Though the epigenetic status did not correlate with C19MC miRNA expression levels, loss of C19MC promoter methylation was significantly associated with Ca and metastatic disease (P=0.01). In conclusion, C19MC cluster aberrations are a characteristic of Ca with respect to Ad. Altogether, these evidences point towards a role for 19q13.4 miRNA clusters as oncogenes in parathyroid tumourigenesis.

Context: The term pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) was coined to describe the clinical condition resulting from end-organ resistance to parathormone (rPTH), caused by genetic and/or epigenetic alterations within or upstream of GNAS. Although knowledge about PHP is growing, there are few data on the prevalence of underlying molecular defects. Objective: The purpose of our study was to ascertain the relative prevalence of PHP-associated molecular defects. Design: With a specially designed questionnaire, we collected data from all patients (n = 407) clinically and molecularly characterized to date by expert referral centers in France, Italy, and Spain. Results: Isolated rPTH (126/407, 31%) was caused only by epigenetic defects, 70% of patients showing loss of imprinting affecting all four GNAS differentially methylated regions and 30% loss of methylation restricted to the GNAS A/B:TSS-DMR. Multihormone resistance with no Albright’s hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO) signs (61/407, 15%) was essentially due to epigenetic defects, although 10% of patients had point mutations. In patients with rPTH and AHO (40/407, 10%), the rate of point mutations was higher (28%) and methylation defects lower (about 70%). In patients with multihormone resistance and AHO (155/407, 38%), all types of molecular defects appeared with different frequencies. Finally, isolated AHO (18/407, 4%) and progressive osseous heteroplasia (7/407, 2%) were exclusively caused by point mutations. Conclusion: With European data, we have established the prevalence of various genetic and epigenetic lesions in PHP-affected patients. Using these findings, we will develop objective criteria to guide cost-effective strategies for genetic testing and explore the implications for management and prognosis.