HORMONAL CONTROL OF PENILE DEVELOPMENT
Grant number: 1063356 | Funding period: 2014 - 2016
Completed
Abstract
Hypospadias, is a common defect, in which the urethra opens abnormally along the shaft of the penis not at the tip. It affects 1 in every 125 boys born in Victoria each year. However, the cause(s) of over two-thirds of these cases cannot be explained. Our studies using marsupials show that this process is mediated by a hormone (5alpha-androstanediol), with previously undetermined physiological function. This study will provide novel data on the interactions of the genes and hormones that result in defects of penile development.