ArticleScientific reports2016
The fertilization-induced zinc spark is a novel biomarker of mouse embryo quality and early development.
Article in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.
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
42 citing papers in PubMed.
- Zinc excess promotes lysosome remodeling by activating HLH-30/TFEB through the action of the high zinc sensor HIZR-1.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- What we could not have known: ovarian cycles, follicle development, and the signature of life.Molecular human reproduction · 2026Review
- DTPA disrupts development of preantral ovarian follicles in vitro.Reproduction & fertility · 2025Article
- Crossing the barrier or how regulation of ovastacin controls fertilization and translates into clinical phenotypes.iScience · 2025Review
- Article
- The Role of One-Carbon Metabolism and Methyl Donors in Medically Assisted Reproduction: A Narrative Review of the Literature.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Review
- Molecular Mechanism of Oocyte Activation in Mammals: Past, Present, and Future Directions.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- ZneLife · 2023Article
- Phospholipase C Zeta 1 (PLCZ1): The Function and Potential for Fertility Assessment and In Vitro Embryo Production in Cattle and Horses.Veterinary sciences · 2023Review
- ZnbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- The Implications of Insufficient Zinc on the Generation of Oxidative Stress Leading to Decreased Oocyte Quality.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2023Review
- The GGC Medium Reduces the DNA Fragmentation of Human Spermatozoa viaArchives of Razi Institute · 2023Article
- The Therapeutic and Diagnostic Potential of Phospholipase C Zeta, Oocyte Activation, and Calcium in Treating Human Infertility.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Quantitative imaging approaches to understanding biological processing of metal ions.Current opinion in chemical biology · 2022Review
- Review
- Potential Role of Zinc in the COVID-19 Disease Process and its Probable Impact on Reproduction.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2022Review
- A Correlation Between Intracellular Zinc Content and Osteosarcoma.Biological trace element research · 2021Review
- Metal ion fluxes controlling amphibian fertilization.Nature chemistry · 2021Article
- Role of zinc in female reproduction.Biology of reproduction · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Upon activation, mammalian eggs release billions of zinc ions in an exocytotic event termed the "zinc spark." The zinc spark is dependent on and occurs coordinately with intracellular calcium transients, which are tightly associated with embryonic development. Thus, we hypothesized that the zinc spark represents an early extracellular physicochemical marker of the developmental potential of the zygote. To test this hypothesis, we monitored zinc exocytosis in individual mouse eggs following parthenogenetic activation or in vitro fertilization (IVF) and tracked their development. Retrospective analysis of zinc spark profiles revealed that parthenotes and zygotes that developed into blastocysts released more zinc than those that failed to develop. Prospective selection of embryos based on their zinc spark profile significantly improved developmental outcomes and more than doubled the percentage of embryos that reached the blastocyst stage. Moreover, the zinc spark profile was also associated with embryo quality as the total cell number in the resulting morulae and blastocysts positively correlated with the zinc spark amplitude (R = 0.9209). Zinc sparks can thus serve as an early biomarker of zygote quality in mouse model.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.