title: Genetic and epigenetic effects in sex determination.
abstract: Sex determination is a complex and dynamic process with multiple genetic and environmental causes, in which germ and somatic cells receive various sex-specific features. During the fifth week of fetal life, the bipotential embryonic gonad starts to develop in humans. In the bipotential gonadal tissue, certain cell groups start to differentiate to form the ovaries or testes. Despite considerable efforts and advances in identifying the mechanisms playing a role in sex determination and differentiation, the underlying mechanisms of the exact functions of many genes, gene-gene interactions, and epigenetic modifications that are involved in different stages of this cascade are not completely understood. This review aims at discussing current data on the genetic effects via genes and epigenetic mechanisms that affect the regulation of sex determination. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 108:321-336, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.|Department of Multidisciplinary Molecular Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Health Science Institute, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sezgin Ozgur
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Gunes
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Asli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Metin Mahmutoglu
authors.affiliation: American Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.
authors.forename: Ashok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agarwal
mesh_terms: D057890:Epigenomics; D005260:Female; D024282:Genes, sry / Q000235:genetics; D006066:Gonads / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055757:SOXE Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D012732:Sex Determination Analysis / Q000379:methods; D019849:Sex Determination Processes / Q000235:genetics*; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D055757:SOXE Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: GATA4; NR5A1; SOXE; SRY; WT1; epigenetics; sex determination