Likewise, the androgen receptor itself is generally inactive in the cell until androgen binding occurs.The following series of steps illustrates how androgens and the androgen receptor work together to produce androgenic effects:

In this way, androgens bound to androgen receptors regulate the expression of target genes, thus produce androgenic effects.Theoretically, certain mutant androgen receptors can function without androgens; in vitro studies have demonstrated that a mutant androgen receptor protein can induce transcription in the absence of androgen if its steroid binding domain is deleted. Conversely, the steroid-binding domain may act to repress the AR transactivation domain, perhaps due to the ARs unliganded conformation. Androgens in fetal development
Human embryos develop similarly for the first six weeks, regardless of genetic sex (46,XX or 46,XY karyotype); the only way to tell the difference between 46,XX or 46,XY embryos during this time period is to look for Barr bodies or a Y chromosome. The gonads begin as bulges of tissue called the genital ridges at the back of the abdominal cavity, near the midline. By the fifth week, the genital ridges differentiate into an outer cortex and an inner medulla, and are called indifferent gonads. By the sixth week, the indifferent gonads begin to differentiate according to genetic sex. If the karyotype is 46,XY, testes develop due to the influence of the Y chromosome’s SRY gene.
This process does not require the presence of androgen, nor a functional androgen receptor.Until around the seventh week of development, the embryo has indifferent sex accessory ducts, which consist of two pairs of ducts: the Müllerian ducts and the Wolffian ducts. Sertoli cells within the testes secrete anti-Müllerian hormone around this time to suppress the development of the Müllerian ducts, and cause their degeneration. Without this anti-Müllerian hormone, the Müllerian ducts develop into the female internal genitalia (uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, and upper vaginal barrel). Unlike the Müllerian ducts, the Wolffian ducts will not continue to develop by default. In the presence of testosterone and functional androgen receptors, the Wolffian ducts develop into the epididymides, vasa deferentia, and seminal vesicles. If the testes fail to secrete testosterone, or the androgen receptors do not function properly, the Wolffian ducts degenerate. Masculinization of the male external genitalia (the penis, penile urethra, and scrotum), as well as the prostate, are dependent on the androgen dihydrotestosterone. Testosterone is converted into dihydrotestosterone by the 5-alpha reductase enzyme. If this enzyme is absent or deficient, then dihydrotestosterone is not created, and the external male genitalia do not develop properly. As is the case with the internal male genitalia, a functional androgen receptor is needed for dihydrotestosterone to regulate the transcription of target genes involved in development.