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No Evidence that 2D:4D is Related to the Number of CAG Repeats in the Androgen Receptor Gene

The length ratio of the second to the fourth digit (2D:4D) is a putative marker of prenatal testosterone (T) effects. The number of CAG repeats (CAGn) in the AR gene is negatively correlated with T sensitivity in vitro. Results regarding the relationship between 2D:4D and CAGn are mixed but have fea...

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Autor principal: Hönekopp, Johannes
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3851970/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24367354
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2013.00185
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author Hönekopp, Johannes
author_facet Hönekopp, Johannes
author_sort Hönekopp, Johannes
collection PubMed
description The length ratio of the second to the fourth digit (2D:4D) is a putative marker of prenatal testosterone (T) effects. The number of CAG repeats (CAGn) in the AR gene is negatively correlated with T sensitivity in vitro. Results regarding the relationship between 2D:4D and CAGn are mixed but have featured prominently in arguments for and against the validity of 2D:4D. Here, I present random-effects meta-analyses on 14 relevant samples with altogether 1904 subjects. Results were homogeneous across studies. Even liberal estimates (upper limit of the 95% CI) were close to zero and therefore suggested no substantial relationship of CAGn with either right-hand 2D:4D, left-hand 2D:4D, or the difference between the two. However, closer analysis of the effects of CAGn on T dependent gene activation in vitro and of relationships between CAGn and T dependent phenotypic characteristics suggest that normal variability of CAGn has mostly no, very small, or inconsistent effects. Therefore, the lack of a clear association between CAGn and 2D:4D has no negative implications for the latter’s validity as a marker of prenatal T effects.
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spelling pubmed-38519702013-12-23 No Evidence that 2D:4D is Related to the Number of CAG Repeats in the Androgen Receptor Gene Hönekopp, Johannes Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) Endocrinology The length ratio of the second to the fourth digit (2D:4D) is a putative marker of prenatal testosterone (T) effects. The number of CAG repeats (CAGn) in the AR gene is negatively correlated with T sensitivity in vitro. Results regarding the relationship between 2D:4D and CAGn are mixed but have featured prominently in arguments for and against the validity of 2D:4D. Here, I present random-effects meta-analyses on 14 relevant samples with altogether 1904 subjects. Results were homogeneous across studies. Even liberal estimates (upper limit of the 95% CI) were close to zero and therefore suggested no substantial relationship of CAGn with either right-hand 2D:4D, left-hand 2D:4D, or the difference between the two. However, closer analysis of the effects of CAGn on T dependent gene activation in vitro and of relationships between CAGn and T dependent phenotypic characteristics suggest that normal variability of CAGn has mostly no, very small, or inconsistent effects. Therefore, the lack of a clear association between CAGn and 2D:4D has no negative implications for the latter’s validity as a marker of prenatal T effects. Frontiers Media S.A. 2013-12-05 /pmc/articles/PMC3851970/ /pubmed/24367354 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2013.00185 Text en Copyright © 2013 Hönekopp. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Endocrinology
Hönekopp, Johannes
No Evidence that 2D:4D is Related to the Number of CAG Repeats in the Androgen Receptor Gene
title No Evidence that 2D:4D is Related to the Number of CAG Repeats in the Androgen Receptor Gene
title_full No Evidence that 2D:4D is Related to the Number of CAG Repeats in the Androgen Receptor Gene
title_fullStr No Evidence that 2D:4D is Related to the Number of CAG Repeats in the Androgen Receptor Gene
title_full_unstemmed No Evidence that 2D:4D is Related to the Number of CAG Repeats in the Androgen Receptor Gene
title_short No Evidence that 2D:4D is Related to the Number of CAG Repeats in the Androgen Receptor Gene
title_sort no evidence that 2d:4d is related to the number of cag repeats in the androgen receptor gene
topic Endocrinology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3851970/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24367354
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2013.00185
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