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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Protocols for Visualizing Steroidogenic Organs and Their Interactive Organs with Immunostaining in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: April 14, 2017
Diverse functions of Hedgehog signaling in formation and physiology of steroidogenic organs
Chen-Che Jeff Huang1, Humphrey Hung-Chang Yao
1Department of Veterinary Biosciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61802, USA.
Abstract:
Adrenal, testis, and ovary are steroidogenic organs derived from a common primordium that consists of steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1)-positive precursor cells. SF1 not only defines the steroidogenic lineages in these organs but also controls their differentiation. Recent evidence implicates the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway as a downstream regulator of SF1 in the appearance of steroidogenic cells in these organs. The Hh signaling pathway serves as a common crosstalk component, yet has evolved diverse functions in the expansion and differentiation of the steroidogenic cells in a tissue-specific manner. The purpose of this review is to compare and contrast the different roles of Hh signaling in these three organs during development.
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