ReviewAsian journal of andrology
Epididymosomes: transfer of fertility-modulating proteins to the sperm surface.
Review in Asian journal of andrology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers.
What it found
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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
40 citing papers in PubMed, 89 citations in OpenAlex.
- Epididymal extracellular vesicles harbor and convey mRNA to sperm for transfer to zygotes.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- The Emerging Roles of Protein Lipidation in Fertility and Reproductive Disorders: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Epididymosomes: Composition and Functions for Sperm Maturation.Advances in anatomy, embryology, and cell biology · 2026Review
- Extracellular Vesicles, Nutrient Balance, and Redox Metabolism During Epididymal Sperm Maturation: A Perspective on the Complexity of Intercellular Interplay.Advances in anatomy, embryology, and cell biology · 2026Review
- Seminal Vesicle-Derived Exosomes for the Regulation of Sperm Activity.Advances in anatomy, embryology, and cell biology · 2026Review
- A special perspective on human fertilization: The role of sperm capacitation proteins and channels: A narrative review.International journal of reproductive biomedicine · 2025Review
- Role of Seminal Exosomes in Reproduction.Journal of cellular physiology · 2025Review
- Male reproductive tract extracellular vesicles display region-specific heterogeneity in mice.Reproduction (Cambridge, England) · 2025Article
- Extracellular Vesicles in the Aging Male Reproductive System: Progresses and Perspectives.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- Isolation of CD63-positive epididymosomes from human semen and its application in improving sperm function.Journal of extracellular vesicles · 2024Article
- Bringing proteomics to bear on male fertility: key lessons.Expert review of proteomics · 2024Review
- CaAnimal cells and systems · 2024Review
- (Patho)Physiology of Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-Anchored Proteins II: Intercellular Transfer of Matter (Inheritance?) That Matters.Biomolecules · 2023Review
- Cadmium-induced impairment of spermatozoa development by reducing exosomal-MVBs secretion: a novel pathway.Aging · 2023Article
- Ether lipids and a peroxisomal riddle in sperm.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2023Review
- Extracellular vesicles from seminal plasma to improve fertilizing capacity of bulls.Reproduction & fertility · 2022Article
- sncRNAs in Epididymosomes: The Contribution to Embryonic Development and Offspring Health.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Sperm acquire epididymis-derived proteins through epididymosomes.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2022Article
- FUS driven circCNOT6L biogenesis in mouse and human spermatozoa supports zygote development.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2021Article
- Metabolic syndrome and male fertility disorders: Is there a causal link?Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
A variety of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked proteins are acquired on spermatozoa from epididymal luminal fluids (ELF) during sperm maturation. These proteins serve roles in immunoprotection and in key steps of fertilization such as capacitation, acrosomal exocytosis and sperm-egg interactions. Their acquisition on sperm cells is mediated both by membrane vesicles (epididymosomes, EP) which were first reported to dock on the sperm surface, and by lipid carriers which facilitate the transfer of proteins associated with the membrane-free fraction of ELF. While the nonvesicular fraction is more efficient, both pathways are dependent on hydrophobic interactions between the GPI-anchor and the external lipid layer of the sperm surface. More recently proteomic and hypothesis-driven studies have shown that EP from several mammals carry transmembrane (TM) proteins, including plasma membrane Ca 2 + -ATPase 4 (PMCA4). Synthesized in the testis, PMCA4 is an essential protein and the major Ca 2 + efflux pump in murine spermatozoa. Delivery of PMCA4 to spermatozoa from bovine and mouse EP during epididymal maturation and in vitro suggests that the docking of EP on the sperm surface precedes fusion, and experimental evidence supports a fusogenic mechanism for TM proteins. Fusion is facilitated by CD9, which generates fusion-competent sites on membranes. On the basis of knowledge of PMCA4's interacting partners a number of TM and membrane-associated proteins have been identified or are predicted to be present, in the epididymosomal cargo deliverable to spermatozoa. These Ca 2 + -dependent proteins, undetected in proteomic studies, play essential roles in sperm motility and fertility, and their detection highlights the usefulness of the hypothesis-driven approach.
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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.