Blanche Capel, Ph.D.

Professor of Cell Biology

Department:
Cell Biology

Email:
bcapelcellbiodukeedu

Mailing Address:
Box 3471, DUMC
Durham, NC 27710

Telephone:
919-684-5465

Training:
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Last Updated:
March 07, 2008

Research Interests:
In mammals, the primary step in male sex determination is the initiation of testis development in the bipotential gonad primordium. This step depends on the Y-linked male sex-determining gene, Sry. Expression of Sry in the XY gonad, or as a transgene in an XX gonad, leads to the differentiation of Sertoli cells. Failures in Sertoli cell differentiation in the XY gonad result in sex reversal and ovary formation. In addition to Sertoli cell differentiation, we are studying the signaling pathways between Sry expression and early steps in testis organogenesis using mouse as a model system. Using genetic and cell biology approaches, we determined the origin of several key cell types of the testis.  We also identified two pathways, proliferation and cell migration, that are controlled by Sry and lead to the architectural patterning of the testis. Currently we are investigating the novel hypothesis that reciprocal signals between the vasculature and Sertoli cells are involved in patterning testis cords. Testis organogenesis is an ideal model system to study the integration of vasculature during development of organ structure. In addition, we are investigating critical signals between Sertoli cells and germ cells during testis cord formation. Defects in these signals result in teratomas and gonadal blastomas, common neoplasias in young boys. Experimental approaches include the use of molecular and biochemical techniques, mutant mice, transgenics, organ culture assays, differential screens, immunocytochemistry imaging techniques, and classic mouse genetics.

Publications:
2003 -- Pubmed # 14561636 -- Yao HH, DiNapoli L, Capel B. Meiotic germ cells antagonize mesonephric cell migration and testis cord formation in mouse gonads. Development. 2003 Dec;130(24):5895-902.

2003 -- Pubmed # 12798287 -- Schmahl J, Capel B. Cell proliferation is necessary for the determination of male fate in the gonad. Dev Biol. 2003 Jun 15;258(2):264-76.

2003 -- Pubmed # 12651897 -- Brennan J, Tilmann C, Capel B. Pdgfr-alpha mediates testis cord organization and fetal Leydig cell development in the XY gonad. Genes Dev. 2003 Mar 15;17(6):800-10.

2003 -- Pubmed # 12835383 -- Jeays-Ward K, Hoyle C, Brennan J, Dandonneau M, Alldus G, Capel B, Swain A. Endothelial and steroidogenic cell migration are regulated by WNT4 in the developing mammalian gonad. Development. 2003 Aug;130(16):3663-70.

2003 -- Pubmed # 12717730 -- Schmahl J, Yao HH, Pierucci-Alves F, Capel B. Colocalization of WT1 and cell proliferation reveals conserved mechanisms in temperature-dependent sex determination. Genesis. 2003 Apr;35(4):193-201.

2002 -- Pubmed # 12050120 -- Yao HH, Whoriskey W, Capel B. Desert Hedgehog/Patched 1 signaling specifies fetal Leydig cell fate in testis organogenesis. Genes Dev. 2002 Jun 1;16(11):1433-40.

2002 -- Pubmed # 11944948 -- Brennan J, Karl J, Capel B. Divergent vascular mechanisms downstream of Sry establish the arterial system in the XY gonad. Dev Biol. 2002 Apr 15;244(2):418-28.

2002 -- Pubmed # 12051821 -- Yao HH, Capel B. Disruption of testis cords by cyclopamine or forskolin reveals independent cellular pathways in testis organogenesis. Dev Biol. 2002 Jun 15;246(2):356-65.

2002 -- Pubmed # 12017538 -- Tilmann C, Capel B. Cellular and molecular pathways regulating mammalian sex determination. Recent Prog Horm Res. 2002;57:1-18.

2000 -- Capel, B. Sry and the Testis: Molecular Pathways of Organogenesis. Serano Symposium XVth Testis Workshop. The Testis: From Stem Cell to Sperm function, Louisville, KY (2000). Springer-Verlag. New York.

2000 -- Pubmed # 10964462 -- Albrecht KH, Capel B, Washburn LL, Eicher EM. Defective mesonephric cell migration is associated with abnormal testis cord development in C57BL/6J XY(Mus domesticus) mice. Dev Biol. 2000 Sep 1;225(1):26-36.

1999 -- Pubmed # 10473126 -- Capel B, Albrecht KH, Washburn LL, Eicher EM. Migration of mesonephric cells into the mammalian gonad depends on Sry. Mech Dev. 1999 Jun;84(1-2):127-31.

1998 -- Pubmed # 9558474 -- Capel B. Sex in the 90s: SRY and the switch to the male pathway. Annu Rev Physiol. 1998;60:497-523.

1998 -- Pubmed # 9662836 -- Brennan J, Karl J, Martineau J, Nordqvist K, Schmahl J, Tilmann C, Ung K, Capel B. Sry and the testis: molecular pathways of organogenesis. J Exp Zool. 1998 Aug 1;281(5):494-500.

1997 -- Pubmed # 9382843 -- Martineau J, Nordqvist K, Tilmann C, Lovell-Badge R, Capel B. Male-specific cell migration into the developing gonad. Curr Biol. 1997 Dec 1;7(12):958-68.

1996 -- Pubmed # 8743937 -- Capel B, Hawkins JR, Hirst E, Kioussis D, Lovell-Badge R. Establishment and characterization of conditionally immortalized cells from the mouse urogenital ridge. J Cell Sci. 1996 May;109 ( Pt 5):899-909.

1995 -- Pubmed # 7600978 -- Hacker A, Capel B, Goodfellow P, Lovell-Badge R. Expression of Sry, the mouse sex determining gene. Development. 1995 Jun;121(6):1603-14.

1995 -- Pubmed # 8570687 -- Karl J, Capel B. Three-dimensional structure of the developing mouse genital ridge. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1995 Nov 29;350(1333):235-42.

1994 -- Pubmed # 7516747 -- Conway SJ, Mahadevaiah SK, Darling SM, Capel B, Rattigan AM, Burgoyne PS. Y353/B: a candidate multiple-copy spermiogenesis gene on the mouse Y chromosome. Mamm Genome. 1994 Apr;5(4):203-10.

1993 -- Pubmed # 8275095 -- Capel B, Rasberry C, Dyson J, Bishop CE, Simpson E, Vivian N, Lovell-Badge R, Rastan S, Cattanach BM. Deletion of Y chromosome sequences located outside the testis determining region can cause XY female sex reversal. Nat Genet. 1993 Nov;5(3):301-7.

1993 -- Pubmed # 7684656 -- Capel B, Swain A, Nicolis S, Hacker A, Walter M, Koopman P, Goodfellow P, Lovell-Badge R. Circular transcripts of the testis-determining gene Sry in adult mouse testis. Cell. 1993 Jun 4;73(5):1019-30.

1990 -- Pubmed # 2374589 -- Gubbay J, Collignon J, Koopman P, Capel B, Economou A, Münsterberg A, Vivian N, Goodfellow P, Lovell-Badge R. A gene mapping to the sex-determining region of the mouse Y chromosome is a member of a novel family of embryonically expressed genes. Nature. 1990 Jul 19;346(6281):245-50.

1990 -- Pubmed # 2350573 -- Capel B, Hawley RG, Mintz B. Long- and short-lived murine hematopoietic stem cell clones individually identified with retroviral integration markers. Blood. 1990 Jun 15;75(12):2267-70.

1990 -- Pubmed # 2247150 -- Koopman P, Münsterberg A, Capel B, Vivian N, Lovell-Badge R. Expression of a candidate sex-determining gene during mouse testis differentiation. Nature. 1990 Nov 29;348(6300):450-2.

1989 -- Pubmed # 2569983 -- Capel B, Mintz B. Neonatal W-mutant mice are favorable hosts for tracking development of marked hematopoietic stem cells. Exp Hematol. 1989 Sep;17(8):872-6.

1989 -- Pubmed # 2567516 -- Capel B, Hawley R, Covarrubias L, Hawley T, Mintz B. Clonal contributions of small numbers of retrovirally marked hematopoietic stem cells engrafted in unirradiated neonatal W/Wv mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Jun;86(12):4564-8.