Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29774101›Full record

ArticleOncotarget2018

Qilin pills alleviate oligoasthenospermia by inhibiting Bax-caspase-9 apoptosis pathway in the testes of model rats.

Kaishu Zhang, Zhengyan Ge, Longlong Fu, Qi An, Fang Zhou, Ying Guo, Xiaowei Wang, Wenhong Lu, Xiaowei Liang, Shusong Wang and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Oncotarget, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Endocrine Disrupting Agents: Toxicological Aspects on Male Reproduction.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Effects of Different Processed Products ofEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Kaishu ZhangChinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
Zhengyan GeInstitute of Basic Medical Sciences of Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijng Municipal Key Laboratory of Pharmacology of Chinese Meteria Medica, Beijing 100091, China.
Longlong FuChinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
Qi AnChinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
Fang ZhouChinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
Ying GuoNational Health and Family Planning Key Laboratory of Male Reproductive Health, Department of Male Clinical Research, National Research Institute for Family Planning & WHO Collaborating Center for Research in Human Reproduction, Beijing 100081, China.
Xiaowei WangNational Health and Family Planning Key Laboratory of Male Reproductive Health, Department of Male Clinical Research, National Research Institute for Family Planning & WHO Collaborating Center for Research in Human Reproduction, Beijing 100081, China.
Wenhong LuNational Health and Family Planning Key Laboratory of Male Reproductive Health, Department of Male Clinical Research, National Research Institute for Family Planning & WHO Collaborating Center for Research in Human Reproduction, Beijing 100081, China.
Xiaowei LiangNational Health and Family Planning Key Laboratory of Male Reproductive Health, Department of Male Clinical Research, National Research Institute for Family Planning & WHO Collaborating Center for Research in Human Reproduction, Beijing 100081, China.
Shusong WangHebei Research Institute for Family Planning, Shijiazhuang 050071, China.
Xuejun ShangDepartment of Andrology, Jinling Hospital Affiliated to Southern Medical University, Nanjing 210002, China.
Yiqun GuChinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

At present, the treatment of oligoasthenospermia with western medicine is ineffective. Qilin pill (QLP) is a Chinese traditional medicine for treating male infertility. Recent multicenter clinical studies in China reported that QLPs markedly improved sperm quality. However, the mechanism of action of QLPs on oligoasthenospermia remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the mechanistic basis for improvement of semen parameters and reversal of testis damage by QLPs in a rat model of oligoasthenospermia induced by treatment with tripterygium glycosides (TGs) (40 mg/kg) once daily for 4 weeks. Rats were administered QLPs (1.62 g/kg or 3.24 g/kg) each day for 60 days, with untreated animals serving as controls. The concentration and motility of sperm extracted from rat epididymis were determined, whereas histopathological examination and immunohistochemical apoptosis analysis of rat testes was performed. Expression profiles of apoptosis-related genes were determined by microarray analysis; the results were validated by quantitative real-time PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Sperm concentration and motility in the QLP treatment group were increased relative to those in control rats. Testis tissue and DNA damage were reversed by QLP treatment. The improvement function of QLPs on sperm and testis works mainly by suppressing mitochondrial apoptosis in the testis via modulation of B cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2, Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), cytochrome C, caspase-9 and caspase-3 expression. QLPs could improve sperm quality and testis damage in a rat model of oligoasthenospermia by inhibiting the Bax-Caspase-9 apoptosis pathway and exerting therapeutic effects.

Indexed as

apoptosismale infertilityoligoasthenospermiaqilin pillstripterygium glycosides

Identifiers

PMID29774101
PMCPMC5955170

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.