Spatial Mapping of Gonad Development in DSD
As part of the CRC 1665 Sexdiversity, this project aims to gain a better understanding of the development of gonadal tissue in a spatiotemporal context. The development from an indifferent gonad towards testis or ovary requires precisely coordinated spatiotemporal signaling, involving a complex regulation of various genes and transcription factors in the gonadal tissue. In individuals with differences of sex development (DSD), proper tissue development and function are impaired due to genetic variants and disrupted cell-cell communication. This study will spatiotemporally characterize currently available gonadal tissues from people with DSD using the GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler (DSP) as well as the Visium HD platform. The spatial transcriptome data will be compared with public single-cell data from gonads spanning the complete human lifespan, from 6 weeks-post-fertilization to adulthood. The goal of this study is to find out if there are shared features of different DSD gonadal tissues or if they are specific to individual genetic causes.
Additional information on the CRC can be found here: https://www.sfb1665.uni-luebeck.de/sfb-1665