# Unexpected roles of the male tract mesenchyme in female reproductive tract formation

> **NIH NIH R00** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2021 · $240,574

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
 Abnormalities in the female reproductive tract formation affects 0.1%-3.0% of live births in
humans, a main cause of infertility issues when individuals reach their adulthood. It is therefore
important to elucidate how the embryo forms a functional female reproductive tract system at the
cellular and molecular levels. In the long run, understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms
directing the female reproductive tract formation will help us develop better strategies for diagnosis,
treatement and prevention of gynecological syndromes and disorders of sexual development.
 At the early fetal stage, a female embryo possesses both primitive male and female
reproductive tracts. The appropriate formation of the female reproductive tract system requires two
steps: 1st. regression of the primitive male tract during sexual differentiation; 2nd. retention and
differentiation of the primitive female tract into the oviduct, the uterus and the partial vagina. The
primitive male and female tracts are surrounded by their respective mesenchyme, which determine
the fate and differentiation of the tracts. The focus of this proposal is the male tract mesenchyme,
which has been suggested by my published and preliminary results to play critical roles in female
reproductive tract formation. During the mentored phase, I will obtain training in next generation
sequencing based approaches, and will test my hypothesis that the male tract mesenchyme acts
through a transcriptional factor COUP-TFII to regulate the male tract elimination, the 1st step of
female reproductive tract formation. In the independent phase, I will use next generation sequencing
based approaches to investigate the differentiation of the male tract mesenchyme during the 2nd step
of female reproductive tract formation. I will further test my hypothesis that the male tract
mesenchyme provides a critical source of mesenchymal cells in the female reproductive tract.
 At the conclusion of these studies, I expect to establish a model elucidating unexpected roles
of the male tract mesenchyme in the formation of the female reproductive tract. My studies will
provide us an entry point to understand reproductive tract diseases associated with perturbed
mesenchymal differentiation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10132364
- **Project number:** 5R00HD096051-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Fei Zhao
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $240,574
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-03-24 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10132364

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10132364, Unexpected roles of the male tract mesenchyme in female reproductive tract formation (5R00HD096051-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10132364. Licensed CC0.

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