ArticleNature2001
A sperm ion channel required for sperm motility and male fertility.
Article in Nature, 2001. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 415 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
415 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 959 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sperm Ion Transporters and Channels in Human Asthenozoospermia: Genetic Etiology, Lessons from Animal Models, and Clinical Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- MicroRNAs association with azoospermia, oligospermia, asthenozoospermia, and teratozoospermia: a systematic review.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2020Pooled it
- Ion Channels as Gatekeepers of Fertility: from Uterine Kir7.1 to Sperm CatSper.Physiology (Bethesda, Md.) · 2027Review
- PKD2-like proteins targetProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- A histidine-mediated supramolecular mechanism links temperature and pH activation of the sperm channel CatSper.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Regulation of spermatozoal capacitation by serotonin.The Journal of reproduction and development · 2026Review
- Off-Target Activation of CatSper Limits the Utility of a Novel Small Molecule Slo3 Inhibitor and its Derivatives in Human Sperm.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2026Article
- A Scalable Flow Cytometry Assay to Evaluate CatSper-mediated CaAndrology · 2026Article
- CATSPERβ-δ Interaction Governs Hierarchical CatSper Holo-complex Assembly and is Essential for Male Fertility.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Interactions among progesterone, estradiol, and γ-aminobutyric acid in rat spermatozoal hyperactivation.The Journal of reproduction and development · 2026Article
- Pimozide Inhibits CatSper Activity, Impairs Hyperactivation and the Acrosome Reaction in Human Spermatozoa.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- The systems that transport ions and their impact on sperm function and male fertility.Function (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- Roles of gut and oral microbiota in methamphetamine-induced multi-organ toxicity.Cell biology and toxicology · 2026Review
- Sperm hyperactivation drives a circling-and-wandering swimming behavior.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Epididymal sperm maturation in mouse species with differing levels of sperm competition†.Biology of reproduction · 2026Article
- A comprehensive review about sperm-oocyte interactions and key activation factors of fertilization in mammals.The Canadian journal of urology · 2026Review
- Article
- An Artificial Intelligence-Based Computer Vision Model for Human Sperm Concentration, Motility, and Kinematics Analysis.Smart medicine · 2026Article
- Molecular Characterization of the Murine Catsper4 Promoter and its Regulation by CREMτ.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2026Article
- CATSPERε extracellular domains are essential for sperm calcium channel assembly and activity modulation.Science advances · 2026Article
355 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Calcium and cyclic nucleotides have crucial roles in mammalian fertilization, but the molecules comprising the Ca2+-permeation pathway in sperm motility are poorly understood. Here we describe a putative sperm cation channel, CatSper, whose amino-acid sequence most closely resembles a single, six-transmembrane-spanning repeat of the voltage-dependent Ca2+-channel four-repeat structure. CatSper is located specifically in the principal piece of the sperm tail. Targeted disruption of the gene results in male sterility in otherwise normal mice. Sperm motility is decreased markedly in CatSper-/- mice, and CatSper-/- sperm are unable to fertilize intact eggs. In addition, the cyclic-AMP-induced Ca2+ influx is abolished in the sperm of mutant mice. CatSper is thus vital to cAMP-mediated Ca2+ influx in sperm, sperm motility and fertilization. CatSper represents an excellent target for non-hormonal contraceptives for both men and women.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.