Immunostaining of feminised male embryonic gonads following aromatase overexpression.

<p>Gonads of control and RCASBP-Aromatase virus infected E10.5 embryos immunostained for aromatase (green) and fibronectin (red) (20×magnification). The medulla (m) and cortex (c) are indicated and boxed areas are shown adjacently as high power images. White dashed lines indicate medulla:cortex boundaries. (A) The left gonads of the control male and female show normal gonadal development. The male has a medulla with characteristic cord structures (arrows) and no aromatase expression. Females show strong aromatase expression and have a vacuolated medulla with lacunae (arrows) and a thickened outer cortex. The left gonad of an RCASBP-Aromatase infected male has strong aromatase expression and like the control female, features a thickened outer cortex, lacks cords in the medulla and contains lacunae (arrow). (B) The right gonads of a control males and females show normal gonad development. The right gonad of a male overexpressing aromatase shows lower aromatase expression compared to the control female, but appears to have disrupted formation of the testis cords.