From: Damien Broderick (d.broderick@english.unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Mon Jun 03 2002 - 10:14:28 MDT
No need to abort all those female foetuses now:
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Scientists have identified a crucial factor required for the
masculinization of the mammalian embryo. Dr. Blanche Capel and colleagues
at Duke University Medical Center (NC) and Curis, Inc. (MA) have determined
that a cell-signaling molecule called Desert Hedgehog, or DHH, is required
for the differentiation of male-specific Leydig cells in the developing
embryo. Fetal Leydig cells are the cells within the testis that produce
testosterone during development, and thereby impart secondary male sex
characteristics to the embryo, including the internal and external male
genitalia.
This discovery posits DHH as the only known factor to induce fetal Leydig
cell differentiation. DHH is one of three mammalian homologs of a protein
called Hedgehog, which was originally identified in the Drosophila fruit
fly, where it regulates body pattern formation. Although all three
mammalian Hedgehog homologs have important signaling functions during
development, this work by Dr. Capel and colleagues demonstrates a primary
role for DHH in establishing secondary male sex characteristics.
EurekaAlert
31-May-2002
Contact: Heather Coselpie
coselpie@cshl.org
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
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