Endocrine Abstracts

Androgen signaling is essential for male reproductive development and masculinization during fetal life. Developmental exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, not least those that disrupt androgen action, can lead to reproductive disorders such as cryptorchidism, hypospadias, and poor fertility. In rodent toxicity studies, as well as human epidemiological studies, a general biomarker for compromised fetal androgen signaling is a shorter anogenital distance (AGD) in male of...

Lifelong thyroid health depends on establishment of thyroid gland structure and function during early life development. However, thyroid development can be disrupted and lead to early- or adult life thyroid disorders. Still, the molecular machinery underpinning thyroid gland development remains poorly understood, particularly after the onset of fetal thyroid function. Here we used bulk-RNA-barcoding and sequencing (BRB-seq) to map the thyroid gland transcriptome as it undergoe...

Hypospadias is among the most common congenital malformations with a mean prevalence of 19.9 per 10,000 live births in Europe. The cause of many cases of hypospadias remains unclear but likely results from a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. Although rodent studies have provided great insights into external genitalia morphogenesis, extrapolations to the human genitals is challenging given significant anatomic and morphogenetic differences. With t...