This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 145/7/3346    most recent Author Manuscript (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Leihy, M. W. Articles by Renfree, M. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Leihy, M. W. Articles by Renfree, M. B.

Penile Development Is Initiated in the Tammar Wallaby Pouch Young during the Period when 5-Androstane-3,17ß-Diol Is Secreted by the Testes

Department of Zoology (M.W.L., G.S., J.D.W., M.B.R.), University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia; and Department of Internal Medicine (J.D.W.), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-8857

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Professor Marilyn B. Renfree, Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Gate 12, Royal Parade, Victoria 3010, Australia. E-mail: m.renfree{at}unimelb.edu.au.

Virilization of the urogenital tract is under the control of testicular androgens in all mammals. In tammar young, prostate differentiation begins between d 20 and d 40 under the control of the testicular androgen 5-androstane-3,17ß-diol (5-adiol), but uncertainties exist about the control of penile development. We performed longitudinal studies up to d 150 of pouch life to define normal penile development and the effects of androgen administration and castration. In control animals the male phallus was longer than the female phallus by d 48. Closure of the urethra in males begins around d 60 and continues to at least d 150. Administration of supraphysiological doses of testosterone to females caused penile development equivalent to that of the male and also induced partial closure of the urethral groove by d 150. Castration of male pouch young at d 25 prevented penile development, whereas the penis in males castrated at d 40, 80, or 120 had partial closure of the urethral groove. Administration of 5-adiol to females from d 20–40 also caused partial closure of the urethral groove and some growth of the phallus at d 150, whereas 5-adiol treatment from d 40–80 or 80–120 caused some penile growth but had little effect on urethral development. These findings, together with the fact that we found no sex differences in plasma levels of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, 5-adiol, dehydroepiandrosterone, or androstenedione from d 51–227, clearly indicate that the action of 5-adiol between d 20 and 40 imprints later differentiation of the male penis.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. Shaw, J. Fenelon, M. Sichlau, R. J. Auchus, J. D. Wilson, and M. B. Renfree Role of the Alternate Pathway of Dihydrotestosterone Formation in Virilization of the Wolffian Ducts of the Tammar Wallaby, Macropus eugenii Endocrinology, May 1, 2006; 147(5): 2368 - 2373. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K-M Fung, E N S Samara, C Wong, A Metwalli, R Krlin, B Bane, C Z Liu, J T Yang, J V Pitha, D J Culkin, et al. Increased expression of type 2 3{alpha}-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/type 5 17{beta}-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (AKR1C3) and its relationship with androgen receptor in prostate carcinoma. Endocr. Relat. Cancer, March 1, 2006; 13(1): 169 - 180. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]