Gonadal morphogenesis is very similar among mammals, birds, and reptiles. Despite this similarity, each group utilises quite different genetic triggers for sex determination. In mammals, testis development is initiated by action of the Y-chromosome gene SRY. Current evidence suggests that SRY may act together with a related gene, SOX9, to activate another gene(s) in the pathway of testicular di...

BACKGROUND Previous studies have indicated that microchimerism is present in body tissues, peripheral blood, and plasma of recipients after organ transplantation. We hypothesize that donor-derived DNA may also be present in cell-free urine of renal transplant recipients and that the concentrations of urine DNA may be correlated with graft rejection. METHODS Thirty-one female patients who had ...

In order to analyze male sterility caused by deletion of SRY and DAZ, we examined the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of a modified primed in situ labeling (PRINS) technique for detection of single-copy genes. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 50 healthy men; medium-term cultured lymphocytes from these samples were suspended in fixative solution and then spread on clean slides. ...

In order to determine the sex of carcass remains of the Sika deer (Cervus nippon), we improved a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique for amplification of the Sika deer Sry, a male-specific DNA region on the mammalian Y chromosome. From the nucleotide sequence of the Sry region obtained here, PCR primers, MT1 and MT2, capable of amplifying a shorter Sry region were newly designed, and a mi...

BACKGROUND SRY (sex-determining region, Y) is the gene responsible of gonadal differentiation in the male and it is essential for the regular development of male genitalia. Translocations involving the human sex chromosomes are rarely reported, however here we are reporting a very rare translocation of SRY gene to the q -arm of a deleted X chromosome. This finding was confirmed by cytogenetic, ...

Familial recurrence risks are poorly understood in cases of de novo mutations. In the event of parental germ line mosaicism, recurrence risks can be higher than generally appreciated, with implications for genetic counseling and clinical practice. In the course of treating a female with pubertal delay and hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, we identified a new missense mutation in the SRY gene, lea...

Silencing of gene expression by RNA interference (RNAi) has become a widely used tool. For the study of mammalian gene function expression vectors for short hairpin RNA (shRNA) were developed. However the standard methods of shRNA transgenic (Tg) mice production have not been established. Sry (sexdetermining region on the Y chromosome) is a mammalian sex-determining gene on the Y chromosome. In...

Fetal cells enter maternal circulation during pregnancy and persist in the woman's body for decades, achieving a form of physiological microchimerism. These cells were also evidenced in tumors. We investigated the frequency and concentration of fetal microchimerism in the local breast cancer environment. From 19 patients with confirmed breast neoplasia, after breast surgical resection, we colle...

Free fetal DNA (ffDNA) in maternal plasma has now become a valuable source for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis. Being able to accurately identify the size of ffDNA in maternal plasma is essential for a noninvasive prenatal diagnosis. Furthermore, it is important to investigate the molecular characteristics related to apoptosis which gives rise to ffDNA. We investigated the fragment size of ffDNA...