Chromosome analysis of 303 pregnancy losses in Mexico.

Background: Chromosomal abnormalities are present in 50 to 60% of miscarriages and in 6 to 19% of stillbirths. Although microarrays are preferred for studying chromosomal abnormalities, many hospitals cannot offer this methodology.

Objective: To present the results of the cytogenetic analysis of 303 products of conception (POC), which included 184 miscarriages, 49 stillbirths and 17 cases of undefined age.

A Boolean network model of human gonadal sex determination.

Background: Gonadal sex determination (GSD) in humans is a complex biological process that takes place in early stages of embryonic development when the bipotential gonadal primordium (BGP) differentiates towards testes or ovaries. This decision is directed by one of two distinct pathways embedded in a GSD network activated in a population of coelomic epithelial cells, the Sertoli progenitor cells (SPC) and the granulosa progenitor cells (GPC). In males, the pathway is activated when the Sex-Determining Region Y (SRY) gene starts to be expressed, whereas in females the WNT4/ β-catenin pathway promotes the differentiation of the GPCs towards ovaries.