Essential roles of androgen signaling in Wolffian duct stabilization and epididymal cell differentiation.

ABSTRACT: The epididymis is a male accessory organ and functions for sperm maturation and storage under the control of androgen. The development of the epididymis is also androgen dependent. The Wolffian duct (WD), anlagen of the epididymis, is formed in both male and female embryos; however, it is stabilized only in male embryos by testicular androgen. Androgen drives subsequent differentiation of the WD into the epididymis. Although the essential roles of androgen in WD masculinization and epididymal function have been established, little is known about cellular events regulated precisely by androgen signaling during these processes. It is also unclear whether androgen signaling, especially in the epithelia, has further function for epididymal epithelial cell differentiation. In this study we exam

SUBMITTER: Murashima A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3060634 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature