ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the mutation of the KAL1 gene in male patients with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We analyzed the exon mutation of the KAL1 gene in 30 IHH patients using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) combined with the PCR product direct sequencing technique.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Three cases of the KAL1 gene mutation were found among the total number of patients, including 1 case of nonsense mutation (c. 1270C > T,p. R424X), and 2 cases of frameshift mutation, (c. 279_280delAG,p. G94fs) and (c. 1886_1887delTT,p. L629fs).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Of the 3 cases of the KAL1 gene mutation we detected, 2 are new and 1 already reported in the literature. The results of our study have provided valuable information on the molecular genetics of the IHH syndrome.</p>