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Related Experiment Videos

The human prostate expresses sonic hedgehog during fetal development.

Daniel H Barnett1, Hong-Ying Huang, Xue-Ru Wu

  • 1Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

The Journal of Urology
|October 24, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Sonic hedgehog (SHH) expression in the human fetal prostate coincides with ductal budding. SHH is present in both sexes but is linked to budding only in males, correlating with testosterone levels.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Urology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Prostate ductal development is crucial for organogenesis.
  • Epithelial budding into the urogenital sinus mesenchyme is a key event.
  • Previous studies in mice identified a signaling peptide essential for this budding process.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize sonic hedgehog (SHH) expression in the developing human fetal prostate.
  • To investigate the role of SHH in human prostate ductal morphogenesis.
  • To compare SHH expression patterns between male and female fetal urogenital sinuses.

Main Methods:

  • Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to analyze SHH mRNA in fetal prostate tissue.
  • Immunostaining was performed on tissue sections from male and female fetuses across various gestational ages.

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  • SHH expression was quantified and localized within the developing prostate and urogenital sinus.

    • Main Results:

    • SHH expression was detected in the human fetal prostate, initially weak and increasing with intense staining in nascent prostatic buds.
    • SHH levels diminished with age in males, becoming absent by 34 weeks gestation.
    • In females, SHH expression was observed in the urogenital sinus but decreased earlier than in males and was not associated with ductal budding.

    Conclusions:

    • Human fetal prostate SHH expression correlates with the fetal testosterone surge and ductal budding.
    • SHH is present in the female urogenital sinus but does not drive ductal budding in the absence of testosterone.
    • These findings highlight a sex-specific role for SHH in human prostate development.