SRY, the mammalian Y-chromosomal testis-determining gene, induces male sex determination. Recent studies in mice reveal that the major role of SRY is to achieve sufficient expression of the related gene Sox9, in order to induce Sertoli cell differentiation, which in turn drives testis formation. Here, we discuss the cascade of events triggered by SRY and the mechanisms that reinforce the differentiation of the testes in males while actively inhibiting ovarian development.

Sex determination in fetal germ cells depends on a balance between exposure to retinoic acid (RA) and the degradation of RA achieved by the testis‐specific expression of the catabolic cytochrome P450 enzyme, CYP26B1. Therefore, identification of factors regulating the expression of the Cyp26b1 gene is an important goal in reproductive biology. We used in situ hybridization to demonstrate that Cyp26b1 and transcription factor genes steroidogenic factor‐1 ( Sf1 ) and Sry ‐related HMG box 9 ( Sox9 ) are coexpressed in Sertoli cells, whereas Cyp26b1 and Sf1 are coexpressed in Leydig cells in mouse fetal testes. In the mouse gonadal somatic cell line TM3, transfection of constructs expressing SOX9 and SF1 activated Cyp26b1 expression, independently of the positive regulator RA. In embryonic gonads deficient in SOX9 or SF1, Cyp26b1 expression was decreased relative to wild‐type (WT) controls, as measured by quantitative RT‐PCR (qRT‐PCR). Furthermore, qRT‐PCR showed that Cyp26b1 up‐regulation by SOX9/SF1 was attenuated by the ovarian transcription factor Forkhead box L2 (FOXL2) in TM3 cells, whereas in Foxl2 ‐null mice, Cyp26b1 expression in XX gonads was increased ~20‐fold relative to WT controls. These data support the hypothesis that SOX9 and SF1 ensure the male fate of germ cells by up‐regulating Cyp26b1 and that FOXL2 acts to antagonize Cyp26b1 expression in ovaries.—Kashimada, K., Svingen, T., Feng, C.‐W., Pelosi, E., Bagheri‐Fam, S., Harley, V. R., Schlessinger, D., Bowles, J., Koopman, P. Antagonistic regulation of Cyp26b1 by transcription factors SOX9/SF1 and FOXL2 during gonadal development in mice. FASEB J. 25, 3561–3569 (2011). www.fasebj.org

Follistatin is a secreted glycoprotein required for female sex determination and early ovarian development, but the precise mechanisms regulating follistatin (Fst) gene expression are not known. Here, we investigate the roles of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) and forkhead-domain transcription factor L2 (FOXL2) in the regulation of Fst expression in the developing mouse ovary. Bmp2 and Fst showed similar temporal profiles of mRNA expression, whereas FOXL2 protein and Fst mRNA were coexpressed in the same ovarian cells. In a cell culture model, both FOXL2 and BMP2 up-regulated Fst expression. In ex vivo mouse fetal gonad culture, exogenous BMP2 increased Fst expression, but this effect was counteracted by the BMP antagonist Noggin. Moreover, in Foxl2-null mice, Fst expression was reduced throughout fetal ovarian development, and Bmp2 expression was also reduced. Our data support a model in which FOXL2 and BMP2 cooperate to ensure correct expression of Fst in the developing ovary. Further, Wnt4-knockout mice showed reduced expression of Fst limited to early ovarian development, suggesting a role for WNT4 in the initiation, but not the maintenance, of Fst expression.

In biological research, quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays are commonly employed to study mRNA abundance in cells and tissues. This type of assay usually relies on assessing transcript abundance relative to constitutively expressed endogenous reference genes. Therefore, it is important that the reference genes themselves are stably expressed in the cells or tissues analyzed, independent of factors such as age, sex, disease or experimental manipulations. Since no gene is expressed at the same level in all cells at all times, suitable reference genes must be identified for the specific cellular system or tissue being investigated. Here, we sought to identify stably expressed endogenous reference genes during embryonic gonad development in the mouse. We measured the transcript abundance of 10 frequently employed normalizing genes, of which 4 were stably expressed in fetal gonads from 11.5 to 14.5 dpc irrespective of sex. Based on our analysis, we suggest that Rn18s, Rps29, Tbp and Sdha are suitable reference genes for qRT-PCR expression studies during early gonad differentiation in the mouse.

Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1; Ad4BP/NR5A1) plays key roles in gonadal development. Initially, the Sf1 gene is expressed in mouse fetal gonads of both sexes, but later is up‐regulated in testes and down‐regulated in ovaries. While Sf1 expression is activated and maintained by Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) and LIM homeobox 9 (LHX9), the mechanism of sex‐specific regulation remains unclear. We hypothesized that Sf1 is repressed by the transcription factor Forkhead box L2 (FOXL2) during ovarian development. In an in vitro system (TM3 cells), up‐regulation of Sf1 by the WT1 splice variant WT1‐KTS was antagonized by FOXL2, as determined by quantitative RT‐PCR. Using reporter assays, we localized the Sf1 proximal promoter region involved in this antagonism to a 674‐bp interval. A conserved FOXL2 binding site was identified in this interval by in vitro chromatin immunoprecipitation. Introducing mutations into this site abolished negative regulation by FOXL2 in reporter assays. Finally, in Foxl2 ‐null mice, Sf1 expression was increased 2‐fold relative to wild‐type XX fetal gonads. Our results support the hypothesis that FOXL2 negatively regulates Sf1 expression by antagonizing WT1‐KTS during early ovarian development in mice.—Takasawa, K., Kashimada, K., Pelosi, E., Takagi, M., Morio, T., Asahara, H., Schlessinger, D., Mizutani, S., Koopman, P. FOXL2 transcriptionally represses Sf1 expression by antagonizing WT1 during ovarian development in mice. FASEB J . 28, 2020–2028 (2014). www.fasebj.org