OBJECTIVE To re-evaluate gonad shielding in paediatric pelvic radiography in terms of attainable radiation risk reduction and associated loss of diagnostic information. METHODS A study on patient dose and the quality of gonad shielding was performed retrospectively using 500 pelvic radiographs of children from 0 to 15 years old. In a subsequent study, 195 radiographs without gonad shielding w...

The study was aimed at analysing body size in relation to form of gonad maturation (amount of mature germ cells) in 329 under-yearling sea trout males. The fish, aged 7 months, were caught in late October-early November in 3 streams located in north-western Poland. Each stream supported fish belonging to a different sib group. Standard histological techniques and a computer image analysis progr...

Embryonic gonad formation involves intimate contact between germ cells and specialized somatic cells along with the complex morphogenetic movements necessary to create proper gonad architecture. Previously, we have shown that gonad formation in Drosophila requires the homophilic cell-adhesion molecule Drosophila E-cadherin (DE-cadherin), and also Fear of Intimacy (FOI), which is required for st...

Background: Gonad shielding has been recommended during pelvic x-rays since the 1950s. The popular method of gonad shielding is placement a lead shield in the midline of the pelvis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and utility of gonad shielding in pediatrics undergoing pelvic x-rays.Materials and MethodsFollowing study approval, we retrospectively retrieved data from the di...

The adult ovaries and testes contain several specialized somatic cell types that support the differentiation of germ cells into mature gametes. Each of these cell types arise from mesodermal cells that constitute the embryonic gonad. To explore the mechanisms governing the development and differentiation of these cells, we focus on the formation of the gonad during Drosophila development. Using...

The Caenorhabditis elegans somatic gonad differs greatly between the two sexes in its pattern of cell divisions, migration, and differentiation. Despite decades of study, the genetic pathways directing early gonadal development and establishing sexual dimorphism in the gonad remain largely unknown. To help define the genetic networks that regulate gonadal development, we employed cell-specific ...

During embryogenesis, primordial germ cells (PGCs) and somatic gonadal precursor cells (SGPs) migrate and coalesce to form the early gonad. A failure of the PGCs and SGPs to form a gonad with the proper architecture not only affects germ cell development, but can also lead to infertility. Therefore, it is critical to identify the molecular mechanisms that function within both the PGCs and SGPs ...

The Caenorhabditis elegans LIN-26 protein is required to specify and/or maintain the fates of all non-neuronal ectodermal cells. Here we show that lin-26 is expressed until the somatic gonad primordium stage in all cells of the somatic gonad, except in distal tip cells, and later in all uterine cells. To determine if lin-26 functions in the somatic gonad, we have generated gonad-specific lin-26...