title: The roles of the nuclear receptor steroidogenic factor 1 in endocrine differentiation and development.
abstract: The orphan nuclear receptor steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) has emerged as a critical determinant of adrenal and gonadal differentiation, development, and function. SF-1 was initially isolated as a positive regulator of the cytochrome P450 steroid hydroxylases in the adrenal glands and gonads; developmental analyses subsequently showed that SF-1 was also expressed in the diencephalon and anterior pituitary, suggesting additional roles in endocrine function. Analyses of knockout mice deficient in SF-1 revealed multiple abnormalities, including adrenal and gonadal agenesis, male to female sex reversal of the internal genitalia, impaired gonadotrope function, and absence of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. Taken together, these results implicate SF-1 as a global regulator within the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and the adrenal cortex.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Schimmer