ArticleBMC biology2020
Large-scale discovery of male reproductive tract-specific genes through analysis of RNA-seq datasets.
Article in BMC biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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
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Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 105 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Male reproductive biology was reshaped during placental mammal diversification through epididymal secretome expansion.EMBO reports · 2026Article
- Discovery of an Adaptive Neuroimmune Response Driving Itch and Fast Tick Removal with Implications for Preventing Pathogen Transmission.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
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- Epididymal extracellular vesicles harbor and convey mRNA to sperm for transfer to zygotes.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
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- The absence of both RIBC1 and RIBC2 induces decreased sperm motility and litter size in male mice.Andrology · 2026Article
- Plasma proteome adaptations during feminizing gender-affirming hormone therapy.Nature medicine · 2026Article
- Functional analysis of genes enriched in male reproductive organs: validation via fertility assessment of 14 knockout mouse lines.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Article
- Formation of a complex between TMEM217 and the sodium-proton exchanger SLC9C1 is crucial for mouse sperm motility and male fertility.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Discovery of an Adaptive Neuroimmune Response Driving Itch and Fast Tick Removal with Implications for Preventing Pathogen Transmission.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- SLC35G3 is a UDP-N-acetylglucosamine transporter for sperm glycoprotein formation and underpins male fertility in mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Transgenerational effects of in ovo stimulation with synbiotic and choline on gonadal tissue across three generations.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Rescue of male infertility by human PRSS55 in transgenic mice establishes a contraceptive research model.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Ovochymase 2 is a key regulatory factor modulating proteolytic pathways and sperm maturation in the mammalian epididymis†.Biology of reproduction · 2025Article
- Sex differences in the genetic regulation of the human plasma proteome.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Disruption of oocyte SUMOylation impacts critical regulatory processes during folliculogenesis in mice†.Biology of reproduction · 2025Article
- Expression of tripartite motif family-like protein 1 and 2 in early conceptus development and placentation in the pig.Reproduction & fertility · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe development of a safe, effective, reversible, non-hormonal contraceptive method for men has been an ongoing effort for the past few decades. However, despite significant progress on elucidating the function of key proteins involved in reproduction, understanding male reproductive physiology is limited by incomplete information on the genes expressed in reproductive tissues, and no contraceptive targets have so far reached clinical trials. To advance product development, further identification of novel reproductive tract-specific genes leading to potentially druggable protein targets is imperative.
resultsIn this study, we expand on previous single tissue, single species studies by integrating analysis of publicly available human and mouse RNA-seq datasets whose initial published purpose was not focused on identifying male reproductive tract-specific targets. We also incorporate analysis of additional newly acquired human and mouse testis and epididymis samples to increase the number of targets identified. We detected a combined total of 1178 genes for which no previous evidence of male reproductive tract-specific expression was annotated, many of which are potentially druggable targets. Through RT-PCR, we confirmed the reproductive tract-specific expression of 51 novel orthologous human and mouse genes without a reported mouse model. Of these, we ablated four epididymis-specific genes (Spint3, Spint4, Spint5, and Ces5a) and two testis-specific genes (Pp2d1 and Saxo1) in individual or double knockout mice generated through the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Our results validate a functional requirement for Spint4/5 and Ces5a in male mouse fertility, while demonstrating that Spint3, Pp2d1, and Saxo1 are each individually dispensable for male mouse fertility.
conclusionsOur work provides a plethora of novel testis- and epididymis-specific genes and elucidates the functional requirement of several of these genes, which is essential towards understanding the etiology of male infertility and the development of male contraceptives.
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