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Sex Hormones and Sex Differentiation

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Endocrinology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2024) | Viewed by 7326

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Division of Cellular Signal Transduction, Department of Biochemistry, Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa 078-8510, Japan
Interests: endocrinology; steroidogenesis; transcription; stem cell; testis; ovary; adrena

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sexual reproduction is necessary for survival for almost all species. There are two important factors that direct sex determination, namely, genetic and environmental factors. In almost all mammalian and avian species, the sex-determining genes of the heterologous sex chromosomes (XX/XY and ZZ/ZW) strictly determine male and female outcome. However, the conditions of the habitat environment during sex differentiation—such as temperature, pH and social structure—can direct individual sexes in fish, amphibians and reptiles, even though some species possess sex-determining genes. Regardless of the dependency to each factor, these conditions trigger a genetic cascade to establish testes and ovaries from bipotential gonadal primordia. There are many unsolved problems in this genetic cascade.Following the differentiation of testes and ovaries, the sex hormones produced in each gonad play vital roles. Sex steroids, androgens and estrogens are some of the representative hormones. These hormones are essential for the establishment of sexual characteristics. They can often induce sex reversal in various animal species. In addition to sex steroids, it has become apparent that many other hormones and paracrine factors are also involved in the sex differentiation of various organs.Here, we invite original research articles and review articles to update our current knowledge and answer the remaining questions in the field of sex differentiation and hormones.

Dr. Takashi Yazawa
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • sex differentiation
  • sex hormones
  • testis
  • ovary
  • gene expression
  • transcription
  • steroids
  • male
  • female

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 8708 KiB  
Article
17β-Estradiol Induced Sex Reversal and Gonadal Transcriptome Analysis in the Oriental River Prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense): Mechanisms, Pathways, and Potential Harm
by Pengfei Cai, Huwei Yuan, Zijian Gao, Hui Qiao, Wenyi Zhang, Sufei Jiang, Yiwei Xiong, Yongsheng Gong, Yan Wu, Shubo Jin and Hongtuo Fu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(10), 8481; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24108481 - 9 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1595
Abstract
Sex reversal induced by 17β-estradiol (E2) has shown the potential possibility for monoculture technology development. The present study aimed to determine whether dietary supplementation with different concentrations of E2 could induce sex reversal in M. nipponense, and select the [...] Read more.
Sex reversal induced by 17β-estradiol (E2) has shown the potential possibility for monoculture technology development. The present study aimed to determine whether dietary supplementation with different concentrations of E2 could induce sex reversal in M. nipponense, and select the sex-related genes by performing the gonadal transcriptome analysis of normal male (M), normal female (FM), sex-reversed male prawns (RM), and unreversed male prawns (NRM). Histology, transcriptome analysis, and qPCR were performed to compare differences in gonad development, key metabolic pathways, and genes. Compared with the control, after 40 days, feeding E2 with 200 mg/kg at PL25 (PL: post-larvae developmental stage) resulted in the highest sex ratio (female: male) of 2.22:1. Histological observations demonstrated the co-existence of testis and ovaries in the same prawn. Male prawns from the NRM group exhibited slower testis development without mature sperm. RNA sequencing revealed 3702 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between M vs. FM, 3111 between M vs. RM, and 4978 between FM vs. NRM. Retinol metabolism and nucleotide excision repair pathways were identified as the key pathways for sex reversal and sperm maturation, respectively. Sperm gelatinase (SG) was not screened in M vs. NRM, corroborating the results of the slice D. In M vs. RM, reproduction-related genes such as cathepsin C (CatC), heat shock protein cognate (HSP), double-sex (Dsx), and gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor (GnRH) were expressed differently from the other two groups, indicating that these are involved in the process of sex reversal. Exogenous E2 can induce sex reversal, providing valuable evidence for the establishment of monoculture in this species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sex Hormones and Sex Differentiation)
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13 pages, 2318 KiB  
Article
Amh/Amhr2 Signaling Causes Masculinization by Inhibiting Estrogen Synthesis during Gonadal Sex Differentiation in Japanese Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)
by Toshiya Yamaguchi and Takeshi Kitano
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(3), 2480; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24032480 - 27 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1606
Abstract
The anti-Müllerian hormone (Amh) is a protein belonging to the TGF-β superfamily, the function of which has been considered important for male sex differentiation in vertebrates. The Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) is a teleost fish that has an XX/XY sex determination [...] Read more.
The anti-Müllerian hormone (Amh) is a protein belonging to the TGF-β superfamily, the function of which has been considered important for male sex differentiation in vertebrates. The Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) is a teleost fish that has an XX/XY sex determination system and temperature-dependent sex determination. In this species, amh expression is up-regulated in genetic males and in temperature-induced masculinization during the sex differentiation period. However, to the best of our knowledge, no reports on the Amh receptor (Amhr2) in flounder have been published, and the details of Amh signaling remain unclear. In this study, we produced amhr2-deficient mutants using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and analyzed the gonadal phenotypes and sex-related genes. The results revealed that the gonads of genetically male amhr2 mutants featured typical ovaries, and the sex differentiation-related genes showed a female expression pattern. Thus, the loss of Amhr2 function causes male-to-female sex reversal in Japanese flounder. Moreover, the treatment of genetically male amhr2 mutants with an aromatase inhibitor fadrozole, which inhibits estrogen synthesis, resulted in testicular formation. These results strongly suggest that Amh/Amhr2 signaling causes masculinization by inhibiting estrogen synthesis during gonadal sex differentiation in the flounder. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sex Hormones and Sex Differentiation)
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12 pages, 2029 KiB  
Article
Soy Isoflavones Induce Feminization of Japanese Eel (Anguilla japonica)
by Hiroyuki Inaba, Yuzo Iwata, Takashi Suzuki, Moemi Horiuchi, Ryohei Surugaya, Shigeho Ijiri, Ai Uchiyama, Ryoko Takano, Seiji Hara, Takashi Yazawa and Takeshi Kitano
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(1), 396; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010396 - 26 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3476
Abstract
Under aquaculture conditions, Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica) produce a high percentage of males. However, females gain higher body weight and have better commercial value than males, and, therefore, a high female ratio is required in eel aquaculture. In this study, we [...] Read more.
Under aquaculture conditions, Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica) produce a high percentage of males. However, females gain higher body weight and have better commercial value than males, and, therefore, a high female ratio is required in eel aquaculture. In this study, we examined the effects of isoflavones, genistein, and daidzein on sex differentiation and sex-specific genes of eels. To investigate the effects of these phytoestrogens on the gonadal sex, we explored the feminizing effects of soy isoflavones, genistein, and daidzein in a dose-dependent manner. The results showed that genistein induced feminization more efficiently than daidzein. To identify the molecular mechanisms of sex-specific genes, we performed a comprehensive expression analysis by quantitative real-time PCR and RNA sequencing. Phenotypic males and females were produced by feeding elvers a normal diet or an estradiol-17β- or genistein-treated diet for 45 days. The results showed that female-specific genes were up-regulated and male-specific genes were down-regulated in the gonads, suggesting that genistein induces feminization by altering the molecular pathways responsible for eel sex differentiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sex Hormones and Sex Differentiation)
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