A hormone-like action of H-Y antigen and gonadal development of XY/XX mosaic males and hermaphrodites

Mechanisms of gonadal differentiation

Sex differentiation is the result of the translation of genetic sex into gonadal sex. Without recognizable masculinizing signals the embryonic gonad will undergo ovarian differentiation. The main determinant of gonadal differentiation appears to be the presence or absence of a cell surface antigen, called H-Y antigen. The regulation of H-Y antigen expression is complex and involves the interaction between regulatory sites on the Y chromosome, the X chromosome, and possibly the autosomes.

Three cases of sex chromosome mosaicism with a nonfluorescent Y

Clinical and cytogenetic findings in three patients mosaic for sex chromosomes (45,X0/46,XY; 45,X0/46,XY/46,XYq-, and 45,X0/46,XY/46,XYY), each with a nonfluorescent Y, are presented. Hypotheses for the origin and effect of these chromosome constitutions are discussed.

Camptomelic dwarfism associated with XY-gonadal dysgenesis and chromosome anomalies

We have studied two female newborns with comptomelic dwarfism, XY-gonadal dysgenesis and chromosome anomalies. The preponderance of "females" among the hitherto reported cases of this allegedly autosomal recessive form of lethal drawfism may be due to an increased incidence of an associated XY-gonadal dysgenesis.