Ovarian differentiation and sex reversal

内生殖器和外生殖器缺陷是婴儿中最常见的出生缺陷之一（每4，000名新生儿中有1名），但在许多情况下，病因尚不清楚。我们将比较和对比小鼠与一个独特的动物模型，tammar小袋鼠，以调查在早期胎儿和出生后的生活卵巢分化的控制。生殖腺是不寻常的，因为两个完全不同的器官来自相同的前体组织，因此发育错误导致间性表型。一些中间性的条件是由于不适当的暴露于激素在胎儿的生活，和其他人是由于自发或遗传基因突变。大约5-10%的卵巢癌病例，影响8000名澳大利亚妇女中的1名，是由于遗传了错误的基因。我们将使用比较分析和诱导性逆转系统，以了解基因表达的方式，因此组织分化是改变男性和女性之间的卵巢与睾丸的形成过程中。这将告知我们正常和异常性发育、不孕症和性腺恶性肿瘤的原因和后果。

Defects of the internal and external genitalia are among the most common birth defects in babies (1 in 4,000 births) yet the aetiology in many cases is unclear. We will compare and contrast the mouse with a unique animal model the tammar wallaby to investigate the control of ovarian differentiation during early fetal and postnatal life. The gonad is unusual in that two completely different organs arise from the same precursor tissues, so that errors in development lead to intersexual phenotypes. Some intersexual conditions are the result of inappropriate exposure to hormones during fetal life, and others are due to spontaneous or inherited gene mutations. About 5-10% of ovarian cancer cases, that affect 1 in 8000 Australian women, are due to the inheritance of a faulty gene. We will use comparative analysis and an inducible sex reversal system to understand the way gene expression and hence tissue differentiation is altered between male and female during the formation of the ovary versus the testis. This will inform us about the causes and consequences of normal and abnormal sexual development, infertility and gonadal malignancies.