Gene expression data from hypothalamic hamartomas (HH) obtained from patients with or without precocious puberty (CPP)

Hypothalamic hamartomas (HHs) are congenital lesions of the neuroendocrine brain composed of neurons and astroglia. Frequently, HHs are associated with central precocious puberty (CPP) and/or gelastic seizures. Because HHs might express genes similar to those required for the initiation of normal puberty we used cDNA arrays to compare the gene expression profile of a HH associated with CPP with three HHs not accompanied by sexual precocity. Our aim was to identify genes whose expression may be selectively altered in the HH with CPP and hence, involved in the onset of puberty. Keywords: comparison between HH with and without CPP Affymetrix arrays were used to detect global changes in gene expression. The results of this analysis were confirmed by semi-quantitative PCR.