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PubMed1998

Premature sexual development in children following the use of estrogen- or placenta-containing hair products.

Four African-American girls aged 14 months to 93 months developed breast or pubic hair 2 to 24 months after starting the use of estrogen or placenta-containing hair products. Discontinuing the use of the hair products resulted in regression of the breast or pubic hair. Serum gonadotropins and estradiol levels were variable. No other cause for early sexual development was noted in these girls.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Effects of neonatal exposure to the antiprogestin mifepristone, RU 486, on the sexual development of the rat.

RU 38486 (RU 486, mifepristone) is a potent progesterone receptor antagonist that has been used in humans in the pharmacologic induction of abortion. The effects of exposure to RU 486 during the neonatal period of the rat has not been previously reported. We examined the consequences of such exposure in the context of sexual development. Long-Evans rat pups were subcutaneously injected with either 100 micrograms RU 486, 300 micrograms RU 486, 500 micrograms progesterone (P), or 50 micrograms testosterone propionate (TP) in 0.05 ml sesame oil, or oil vehicle alone within 8 hours of birth, and 24 and 48 hours later. Treatment with either dose of RU 486 significantly advanced the onset of vaginal opening in females and attenuated defeminization of the lordosis response measured in males castrated as adults. As expected, TP-treated subjects were masculinized and defeminized, with females displaying fused vaginas and neither males nor females demonstrating lordosis behavior. Treatment with P caused no significant alterations in either the timing of vaginal opening or sexual behavior. These results indicate that RU 486 has clear developmental effects in the rat. Since this may well be a result of progesterone receptor blockade, further research is needed to clarify the processes involved.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Altered sexual development in male rats after oestrogen administration during the neonatal period.

Male rats given 250 mug oestradiol benzoate by subcutaneous injection on Day 4 of postnatal life showed a marked delay in the onset of the pubertal increase in the weight of the testes and seminal vesicles and in spermatogenesis but not a complete failure of sexual development. The increase in plasma testosterone concentration at puberty was also delayed in oestrogen-treated males but the eventual increase in seminal vesicle weight was closely related in time to the delayed increase in plasma testosterone concentration. Both plasma LH and FSH concentrations were reduced for about 10 days after oestrogen administration as compared to control values. After 22 days of age, plasma LH concentration did not differ significantly from the control values. The plasma FSH concentration of the oestrogen-treated males showed a delayed rise to values equal to or higher than those of controls of the same age. The delayed rise in plasma FSH concentration in the oestrogen treated males preceded the delayed rise in plasma testosterone in these animals. The decrease in plasma FSH concentration from the high prepubertal values to the lower values in adults occurred at different ages in the control and in oestrogen-treated rats but in both groups the decrease occurred as plasma testosterone levels were increasing and the first wave of spermatogenesis was reaching completion. The increase in plasma FSH concentration after castration was reduced in oestrogen-treated males during the period throughout which FSH levels in the intact animals were subnormal but the levels in oestrogen-treated males castrated after the delayed rise in FSH had occurred did not differ from control values. It is suggested that the delayed sexual maturation of male rats treated with high doses of oestrogen in the neonatal period is related principally to abnormalities in the secretion of FSH.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Deleterious effects of adrenocorticotrophic hormone administration during late pregnancy upon offspring somatic, neurological, and sexual development in mice.

The influence of administration of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) during days 12-17 of pregnancy upon somatic, neurological, and neuromuscular development of offspring in mice was studied. The effects upon the onset of puberty in female offspring was also examined. Litters from mice given the higher of two doses of ACTH (1 IU/day or 8 IU/day) showed lower body weights at birth and weaning than controls. This treatment also increased pre- and postnatal mortality rates, although not significantly. Litters from mice treated with either dose of ACTH showed retarded development of the forelimb and hindlimb grasp reflexes, the body righting reflex, the auditory startle response, and eye opening. Although ear opening was delayed in litters from ACTH-treated mice, results did not achieve statistical significance. Study of female offspring housed in small groups revealed that one indicator of puberty, vaginal opening, was delayed in female offspring of ACTH-treated mice. Experiments were conducted to identify factors mediating this syndrome: ACTH did not depress maternal food intake or alter the length of pregnancy, therefore fetal undernutrition or premature birth can be excluded as mediating factors. All litters were fostered to untreated mice to control for postnatal factors influencing development. As ACTH cannot cross the placenta, the syndrome is likely to result from in utero exposure to abnormally high concentrations of glucocorticosteroids of maternal origin. It is concluded that such alterations to the fetal environment can exert a deleterious influence upon somatic, neurological, and sexual development, and that hormones of the maternal pituitary-adrenocortical axis may naturally act to regulate general development of the fetus.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed2002

[Study on the sexual development of adolescent male].

OBJECTIVES: The investigation of the testicular volume, the penis length and the T, FSH, LH, PRL levels in serum were taken in 289 adolescent males to provide the valuable data for andrology. METHODS: The adolescent males were grouped according to their age. The testicular volume was measured with testicular model and the T, FSH, LH, PRL levels in serum were determined by immunoenzymetric assay. RESULTS: The male sexual development was rapid from age 11 to 16 and close to that of adult at age 18. Serum PRL of adolescent males was higher than that of adult males. CONCLUSIONS: The age 11 to 16 is a period of rapid growth in sexual maturation. PRL may play an important role in sexual maturation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

An N-Terminal Dimerization Domain Permits Homeodomain Proteins To Choose Compatible Partners and Initiate Sexual Development in the Mushroom Coprinus cinereus.

The A mating-type locus of the mushroom Coprinus cinereus contains three or more paralogous pairs of genes encoding two families of homeodomain proteins (HD1 and HD2). A successful mating brings together different allelic forms of at least one gene, and this is sufficient to trigger initial steps in sexual development. Previous studies have suggested that development is regulated by heterodimerization between HD1 and HD2 proteins. In this report, we describe 5[prime] gene deletions and 5[prime] end exchanges showing that the N-terminal regions of the proteins are essential for choosing a compatible partner but not for regulating gene transcription. Using an in vitro glutathione S-transferase association assay, we demonstrated heterodimerization between HD1 and HD2 proteins and found that heterodimerization only occurs between compatible protein combinations. The N-terminal regions of the proteins were sufficient to mediate dimerization, and N-terminal swaps resulted in a predicted change in dimerization specificity. By analyzing the N-terminal amino acid sequences of HD1 proteins, we identified two potential coiled-coil motifs whose relative positions vary in paralogous proteins but are both required for in vivo function.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Effects of the integrated TCM-WM treatment of nephrotic syndrome on growth and sexual development.

Fifty children with nephrotic syndrome were treated by using herbal drugs for nourishing yin to reduce pathogenic fire, strengthening qi and tonifying the kidney, and promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis in combination with glucocorticoid and immunodepressant. The body height, secondary sex characters, age of the first spermatorrhea for male and of menarche for female children, bone age measured with roentgenograms on the left wrist in 50 cases of the treatment group were compared with those in 31 cases of the control group treated by glucocorticoid and immunodepressant. The results showed that the delay of growth and sexual development as side-effects of glucocorticoid and immunodepressant were markedly reduced by the integrated TCM-WM treatment.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗
PubMed2000

Female adolescent sexuality. Promoting healthy sexual development.

Health care providers must recognize the specific challenges and rewards of providing services for adolescents. Quality care begins with the establishment of trust, respect, and confidentiality between the health care provider and the adolescent. Data suggest that the normal age for beginning puberty is decreasing, which has important clinical, educational, and social implications. The health care provider should be aware of the broad range of potential sexual behaviors involving adolescents, as well as the teen's acceptance of such behaviors, often dictated by age, gender, culture, and education. When providing gynecologic care to adolescent girls, the physician should not only provide contraception and screen for sexually transmitted diseases but should contribute to the development of the patient's sexual health. Especially when providing care for the younger teen, the health care provider must focus on involving a member of the family or another significant adult to provide needed support and guidance. Anticipatory guidance for parents should focus on assessing their parenting styles and promoting supervision. Although parents should strive to maintain open communication with their adolescents, they may not accurately estimate the sexual activity of and the sexual risk for their teenage children. Parents need to be encouraged to consider the implications of their own sexual behaviors. The provider should attempt to foster a comfortable environment in which youth may seek help and support for appropriate medical care while reserving the right to disclose their sexual identity when ready. Health care professionals cannot exclude heterosexual behavior on the basis that a young woman self-identifies as homosexual. Her reported sexual behaviors may not indicate her sexual orientation. Self-definition of sexual orientation is a dynamic process including factors such as fantasies, desires, and behaviors. Self-definition of sexual identity is affected by individual variations in sex, gender, sexual roles, and sexual orientation. Most adolescents want to discuss sexual-related issues with their health care providers and will welcome direct questions about sexual behaviors and possible risks when posed in a confidential and nonmoralistic manner. Discussion of the physical, emotional, familial, and social changes related to adolescence will encourage healthy sexual development.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

5 Alpha- and 5 beta-reductases for 4-ene-3-ketosteroids and 17 beta-ol-dehydrogenase in epididymis and testis of golden hamster during sexual development.

Homogenates of the epididymis, testis and seminal vesicle from 15, 25, 35 and 60-day old golden hamsters were incubated with [3H]4-androstene-3,17-dione and NADPH and enzyme activity was estimated. In the testis, activities of 5 alpha- and 5 beta-reductases were the highest (32 +/- 4 and 68 +/- 13 (SD) nmol/100 mg protein/h, respectively) at 25 days of age, moderately high at 35 days and very low (1-3 and 5-6, nmol/100 mg protein/h, respectively) at 15 and 60 days. In the epididymis, 5 alpha-reductase activities increased with age during sexual development by up to 50-fold and reached the maximum value (40 +/- 11 nmol/100 mg protein/h) at 60 days. The 5 alpha-reductase activities in the seminal vesicle were found to be relatively low (0.5-1 nmol/100 mg protein/h), compared with those in the epididymis and testis. Activities of 5 beta-reductase in the epididymis and seminal vesicle were very low (0.1-0.5 nmol/100 mg protein/h) at all ages. These results indicate the existence of a marked, but transient, increase in 5 alpha- and 5 beta-reductase activities during immature period in the testis of golden hamster. In the epididymis, however, 5 alpha-reductase activity increases with age during sexual maturation, while 5 beta-reductase activity is almost undetectable at all ages.

17-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases↗
PubMed1991

The tubB alpha-tubulin gene is essential for sexual development in Aspergillus nidulans.

The filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans has two genes encoding alpha-tubulin, tubA and tubB. Mutational analysis of tubA has demonstrated that the tubA gene is essential for mitosis and nuclear migration. In this study we have deleted the tubB gene by replacing it with a selectable marker and have named this new allele tubB delta. The results demonstrate that the tubB gene is not required for vegetative growth or asexual reproduction, nor is it required for the initiation or early stages of sexual differentiation. Deletion of tubB, however, completely prevents ascosporogenesis, because tubB delta strains produce no sexual spores when self-crossed. These strains produce viable ascospores when outcrossed to tubB+ strains, indicating that the tubB delta mutation is recessive. We have studied the cytology of sexual development in wild-type strains and in the tubB mutant and have observed that tubB delta. strains develop normally to the stage of ascus formation. However, only a single nuclear mass is observed in the tubB delta ascus, indicating that either the two zygotic haploid nuclei are blocked in karyogamy or that karyogamy occurs but the resulting diploid nucleus is subsequently blocked in meiosis I.

Aspergillus nidulans↗
PubMed1999

Sexual development of Taenia solium in hamsters from rodent-derived cysticerci.

In order to determine whether Taenia solium can be maintained in the laboratory using rodents as definitive hosts, six nude rats, 20 immunosuppressed Mongolian gerbils and 20 immunosuppressed Syrian hamsters were each inoculated through a stomach tube with three cysticerci recovered from SCID mice. No adult worms of T. solium were found in the intestinal tract of any of these 46 rodents. In addition, five immunosuppressed Syrian hamsters were fed with the same number of cysticerci enclosed in rodent muscles from SCID mice. Two of these hamsters were found to be infected 40 days post-infection, each harbouring a sexually developed worm in the intestinal tract. Although no eggs were produced, prepatent infections may be possible if a longer time was allowed for worm development. Moreover, the maintenance of the life cycle of T. solium in the laboratory using the rodent model can be established.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

The Prr1 response regulator is essential for transcription of ste11+ and for sexual development in fission yeast.

Schizosaccharomyces pombe expresses a putative transcription factor, named Prr1, which is intriguing in the sense that it contains a bacterial type of phospho-accepting receiver domain, preceded by a mammalian heat shock factor (HSF2)-like DNA-binding domain. The receiver domain is most probably involved in an as yet unidentified histidine-to-aspartate (His-to-Asp) phosphorelay pathway in S. pombe. In this study, the structure, function, and cellular localization of Prr1 were assessed in the context of oxidative stress and His-to-Asp phosphorelay. As the most intriguing result of this study, we found that Prr1 is essential not only for the expression of genes induced by oxidative stress (e.g., ctt1+ and trr1+), but also for the expression of ste11+, which in turn is responsible for the expression of a variety of genes required for sexual development. Accordingly, Prr1-deficient cells are not only hypersensitive to oxidative stress, but also severely defective in conjugation and/or spore formation. These results suggested that the transcription factor Prr1 plays a pivotal role in an as yet unknown signal transduction pathway that is implicated in sexual differentiation. These findings are discussed with special reference to the well-characterized transcription factors Pap1 and Atf1 of S. pombe.

Activating Transcription Factor 1↗
PubMed1998

GD3 and GM2 synthase activities in rat testes during the period of sexual development.

Activities of two key enzymes of gangliosides biosynthesis were determined in rat testes during development. GD3 synthase activity was low and showed small variations with age. GM2 synthase activity increased 10-fold in testes from 10- to 30-d-old animals, showing a maximum activity at 30 d, followed by a small decrease until 45 d and then a constant activity up to adulthood. These developmental changes in the activity of both glycosyltransferases were related to the increasing complexity in the ganglioside pattern observed in rats testes during the period of sexual development.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Schizosaccharomyces pombe taf1+ is required for nitrogen starvation-induced sexual development and for entering the dormant GO state.

Environmental change, such as nutritional starvation, induces physiological and morphological alterations that enable fission yeast cells to survive. We isolated a novel gene, taf1+, required for the response to nitrogen starvation in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. taf1 disruptants could not mate upon nitrogen starvation, but could upon carbon starvation. taf1 disruptants had a defect in inducing stell+ expression under nitrogen starvation conditions. Furthermore, they lost viability quickly in nitrogen-depleted medium. Unlike wild-type cells, starved taf1-cells had nuclear chromatin that were flat and adhered to the cell periphery. These results indicate that tqf1+ is required for nitrogen starvation-induced sexual development and entering the dormant G0 state.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1981

Dominant spore color mutants of Aspergillus nidulans defective in germination and sexual development.

The ascomycete Aspergillus nidulans produces green conidia (asexual spores). Recessive mutants which produce yellow conidia have been previously isolated from haploid strains and have been shown to be deficient in laccase (diphenol oxidase), an enzyme that requires copper for activity. Using a diploid parent strain, we isolated dominant yellow conidial mutants which, in the haploid state, produced even less laccase activity than a recessive mutant. Three isolates of such mutants behaved similarly and define a single complementation group (yB) on chromosome VIII distinct from the yA locus on chromosome I defined by recessive mutants. Unlike yA mutants, whose only discernable phenotype is their conidial color, yB mutants are pleiotropic: conidial germination was delayed relative to the wild type, and sexual development was blocked at an early stage. The three phenotypes of yB mutants were expressed on yeast extract-glucose medium containing 1.6 microM of added copper. When copper was added to above 5 microM, all three phenotypes were remediated, and near wild-type levels of laccase were produced. We conclude that yB mutants have a reduced availability of copper. The dominance of yB mutants could result, for example, from an alteration in transport or storage of copper. Using an immunological assay, we detected no laccase antigenic cross-reacting material in yB mutants grown on medium of low copper content. We conclude that either the synthesis or the stability of laccase is copper dependent.

Aspergillus nidulans↗
PubMed2003

Normal female sexual development requires neuregulin-erbB receptor signaling in hypothalamic astrocytes.

The initiation of mammalian puberty requires the activation of hypothalamic neurons secreting the neuropeptide luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH). It is thought that this activation is caused by changes in trans-synaptic input to LHRH neurons. More recently, it has been postulated that the pubertal increase in LHRH secretion in female animals also requires neuron-glia signaling mediated by growth factors of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family and their astrocytic erbB receptors. Although it appears clear that functional astrocytic erbB1 receptors are necessary for the timely advent of puberty, the physiological contribution that erbB4 receptors may make to this process has not been established. To address this issue, we generated transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative erbB4 receptor (DN-erbB4) under the control of the GFAP promoter, which targets transgene expression to astrocytes. DN-erbB4 expression is most abundant in hypothalamic astrocytes, where it blocks the ligand-dependent activation of glial erbB4 and erbB2 receptors, without affecting erbB1 (EGF) receptor signaling. Mice carrying the transgene exhibit delayed sexual maturation and a diminished reproductive capacity in early adulthood. These abnormalities are related to a deficiency in pituitary gonadotropin hormone secretion, caused by impaired release of LHRH, the hypothalamic neuropeptide that controls sexual development. In turn, the reduction in LHRH release is caused by the inability of hypothalamic astrocytes to respond to neuregulin (NRG) with production of prostaglandin E(2), which in wild-type animals mediates the stimulatory effect of astroglial erbB receptor activation on neuronal LHRH release. Thus, neuron-astroglia communication via NRG-erbB4/2 receptor signaling appears to be essential for the timely unfolding of the developmental program by which the brain controls mammalian sexual maturation.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Concentrations of luteinizing hormone and progesterone in plasma during sexual development of the Khaki Campbell duck.

Concentrations of LH and progesterone were measured in the plasma of ducks which were, from 3 weeks of age, raised on either a constant photoperiod of 16 h light: 8 h darkness or a lighting schedule which stimulated natural changes in daylength. In ducks raised on a constant photoperiod of 16 h light: 8 h darkness the plasma concentration of LH increased steeply between 7 and 3.5 weeks before the onset of lay. Concentrations of LH then declined, gradually at first, but them rapidly during the 7 days before the first oviposition in association with a pronounced increase in the plasma concentration of progesterone. During the 18 days before the first egg was laid there was a significant (P less than 0.01) negative correlation between the plasma concentrations of LH and progesterone. The patterns of LH release during sexual development of ducks raised on a schedule which stimulated natural changes in daylength were variable but could be categorized according to the daylength at which each duck came into lay. In ducks coming into lay soon after the winter solstice when daylength was short (8.0-8.5 h light/day) there was a pronounced 15-fold prepubertal increase in the plasma concentration of LH although in some ducks high LH levels were not maintained until 3-4 weeks before the first oviposition and were not always followed by a rise in the plasma concentration of progesterone. In contrast, in ducks coming into lay when daylength had increased to 11.0-11.5 h light/day there were only minor fluctuations in the plasma concentration of LH until a small two- to threefold increase in LH was observed during the 2 weeks before the first oviposition.

Animals↗