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Immunohistochemical localization of androgen receptors in the urogenital tracts of human embryos

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, First Floor, Liverpool Women’s Hospital, Crown Street, Liverpool L8 7SS, UK and ¹ Department of Immunology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK

Correspondence should be addressed to S Quenby; Email: squenby{at}liv.ac.uk

The aim of this study was to investigate androgen receptor (AR) expression in the developing human urogenital tract. The distribution of AR was examined in paraffin-embedded tissue sections of the lower urogenital tract using 55 human embryos of 8–12 weeks of gestation. Immunohistochemistry was performed for AR detection and gender was determined by polymerized chain reaction. There were no differences in the distribution of AR in male and female embryos at any stage of gestation. AR was present only in the mesenchymal tissues of the urogenital sinus at 8 weeks whilst the epithelium was negative, but after 9 weeks the epithelium also showed progressively more positive staining. In the phallus, AR staining was prominent. There was far less staining in the epithelium of the urethral groove from 8 to 10 weeks, whilst the mesenchyme of the urethral folds showed positive staining. At 11 and 12 weeks, both the urethral groove and folds showed uniform staining. The genital tubercle, genital swelling and bulbourethral gland precusors were also positively stained, although paramesonephric ducts were negative. Staining was observed in the mesonephric duct from 9 weeks. There was an absence of staining in the rectum at all stages of gestation. The expression of AR in an epithelium may be dependent upon the mesenchyme. Mesenchymal–epithelial interactions played an important role in development, as has been described in experimental animals. AR expression could play a part in the growth of the genital organs.