Researchers have discovered a gene that plays a vital role in normal defect which affects the genitalia of baby boys. The condition called Hypospadias which affects one in every four hundred bay boys is the consequence of incomplete growth in the womb.
When gene is mutated, it twice the risk of mounting the condition, found the latest research published in the journal Nature Genetics. In baby boys with this deformity, the opening of the urethral tube is not positioned at the tip of the urinary organ. Either it is further down the organ, at its base or further back in the scrotum.
The normal solution of the problem is surgery in young age, though corrected through this way, there can be long term medical, psychological and sexual outcomes. The problem happens during the growth of the sexual organs in the womb. The exposure to environmental chemical in early pregnancy may be contributing factor.
The only consistent hint has been verity that condition is more prone if male family member has suffered it, which indicates a part of genetic origin. The researchers have already found a gene playing a vital role in more stern form of hypospadias. However the genetic transformations causative to the more common, less stern edition have proved intangible.
The research teams from King’s College London, and Radboud University Njimegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands conducted a large scale study genome study. To expose genetic alteration, they compared genetic code of hundreds of baby boys with and without the condition that seemed to be common in those with hypospadias.
It was found that boys with altered version of the DGKK gene were more than twice prone to be born with hypospadias. This gene was found on X-chromosome that is inherited by boy from the mother. More research is required to be done to observe other genes and environmental factors that might trigger the deformity, explained Dr Jo Knight from King’s College London.