Help with assigning gender could one day be at hand for intersex individuals whose genital phenotypes and sex chromosomes don't match, thanks to the discovery of a stable sex hormone signature in our cells.
Help with assigning gender could one day be at hand for intersex individuals whose genital phenotypes and sex chromosomes don't match, thanks to the discovery of a stable sex hormone signature in our cells.
In an article published today in the online open access journal BMC Genomics, researchers have shown for the first time that testosterone leaves an irreversible molecular signature in cells that may provide a far more sophisticated way to look at sex than just ascertaining the presence of the Y chromosome. A team of researchers from the US and Germany were able to pinpoint the role of testosterone by comparing individuals with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) to people without CAIS. The findings provide a platform for future work that may lead to improved counselling for those whose gender is ambiguous.
Lead researcher, Professor Paul-Martin Holterhus, of University-Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany, said: "Androgens have long lasting effects during certain sensitive stages of our genital development and this is probably true for other organs". He adds "It is currently increasingly accepted that the brain shows sex-specific development in response to presence or absence of testosterone. This affects sex specific behaviour and probably modulates gender identity."
The role of androgens - especially the male-defining hormone testosterone - in sexual development has long been known. Gender programming begins in the embryo and is thought to continue throughout life, particularly during puberty. However, what's not currently known is the different roles of sex chromosome genes versus the long-term programming effects of sex hormones, namely androgens.