Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 2, 2026

Skeletal Muscle Gender Dimorphism from Proteomics
Published on: December 14, 2011
Body proportion is not affected by sex in LARON syndrome
Alexandra Guevara1, George Bright2
1Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, the Netherlands; Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador.
Abstract:
Under normal circumstances, the GH/IGF-I axis is the main hormonal influence for longitudinal growth and adult height in males and females. Opposite to that, epiphyseal fusion, skeletal characteristics and fat distribution are mediated by estrogen in a sex-specific manner. While we have previously demonstrated that longitudinal growth and body proportionality are affected by serum IGF-I concentration (Guevara-Aguirre et al., 2025 (1)), now we present evidence demonstrating that body proportions in Laron syndrome (LS) are affected but independently of sex. Considering that the percent difference between males and females is comparable not only in Laron syndrome subjects but also in its relatives as well as in normal populations, it is suggested that the GH/IGF-I signaling and serum IGF-I influence body proportions in a similar fashion in both sexes. We conclude that the status of GH/IGF-I signaling and serum IGF-I influence body segment proportionality in a comparable manner in both sexes and that this notion might apply to all normal humans.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Sex-linked Disorders
The Ratio of X Chromosome to Autosomes
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female...
Signs of Puberty
Dosage Compensation
In addition to sexual development, the X chromosome has genes involved in autosomal functions such as brain development and the immune system. Therefore, males and females with distinct numbers of X chromosomes will...
The Y Chromosome Determines Maleness
Evolution
Around 300 million years ago, the two sex chromosomes diverged from two identical autosomal chromosomes. Over time, the Y chromosome has lost most of its genes, shrinking in size....
X-linked Traits

