Work

A tale of two tracts: history, current advances, and future directions of research on sexual differentiation of reproductive tracts†

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Alfred Jost's work in the 1940s laid the foundation of the current paradigm of sexual differentiation of reproductive tracts, which contends that testicular hormones drive the male patterning of reproductive tract system whereas the female phenotype arises by default. Once established, the sex-specific reproductive tracts undergo morphogenesis, giving rise to anatomically and functionally distinct tubular organs along the rostral-caudal axis. Impairment of sexual differentiation of reproductive tracts by genetic alteration and environmental exposure are the main causes of disorders of sex development, and infertility at adulthood. This review covers past and present work on sexual differentiation and morphogenesis of reproductive tracts, associated human disorders, and emerging technologies that have made impacts or could radically expand our knowledge in this field.

Source: Biology of Reproduction

DOI: 10.1093/biolre/ioz079

Authors: Fei Zhao, Humphrey Hung-Chang Yao

Institutions: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Sexual Differentiation and Disorders

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,605

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development