ReviewFrontiers in endocrinology2022
Expression and Role of INSL3 in the Fetal Testis.
Review in Frontiers in endocrinology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genetic and genomic insights into male reproductive tract development.Fertility and sterility · 2025Pooled it
- Mapping of sex hormones in the testicular vein of healthy men.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Article
- Compartmentalization of DHCR7 links 7-DHC metabolism to B-ring unsaturated steroid synthesis in the equine fetal gonad.Endocrinology · 2026Article
- Review
- Transcriptomic Profiling of Canine Testicular Leydig Cell Tumors Uncovers Key Upregulated Gene Pathways.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Laterality and Breed Distribution of Cryptorchidism in 251 Dogs: A Retrospective Clinical Study.Veterinary sciences · 2026Article
- Clinical Course of Severe Perineal Hypospadias with Cryptorchid Testicular Tumors in a Dog: Contextual Reference to Developmental and Endocrine Transcriptomic Pathways.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Article
- Review
- Plasma proteome adaptations during feminizing gender-affirming hormone therapy.Nature medicine · 2026Article
- Obesity and cryptorchidism across development: an integrated endocrine and metabolic life course framework.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- Comparison of in utero phthalate exposure on fetal rat testis transcript and endocrine alterations with apical reproductive alterations in male rats.Toxicology and applied pharmacology · 2025Article
- Sex differences in the genetic regulation of the human plasma proteome.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Evolutionary innovations in germline biology of placental mammals identified by transcriptomics of first-wave spermatogenesis in opossum.Developmental cell · 2025Article
- Article
- Maternal Fed Zinc-Deficient Diet: Effects on Relaxin Family Peptides and Oxidant System in the Testis and Liver Tissue of Male Offspring.Biological trace element research · 2024Article
- Discovery of RXFP2 genetic association in resistant hypertensive men and RXFP2 antagonists for the treatment of resistant hypertension.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Hormone Regulation in Testicular Development and Function.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Expression of Insl3 Protein in AdultInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Achieving an optimal pregnancy outcome through the combined utilization of micro-TESE and ICSI in cryptorchidism associated with a non-canonical splicing variant in RXFP2.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2024Article
- Male animal sterilization: history, current practices, and potential methods for replacing castration.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) is a small peptide hormone of the insulin-relaxin family which is produced and secreted by the fetal Leydig cells in the testes only. It appears to be undetectable in female fetuses. In the human fetus INSL3 synthesis begins immediately following gonadal sex determination at weeks 7 to 8 post coitum and the peptide can be detected in amniotic fluid 1 to 2 weeks later. INSL3 acts through a unique G-protein-coupled receptor, called RelaXin-like Family Peptide receptor 2 (RXFP2), which is expressed by the mesenchymal cells of the gubernacular ligament linking the testes to the inguinal wall. The role of INSL3 in the male fetus is to cause a thickening of the gubernaculum which then retains the testes in the inguinal region, while the remainder of the abdominal organs grow away in an antero-dorsal direction. This represents the first phase of testis descent and is followed later in pregnancy by the second inguino-scrotal phase whereby the testes pass into the scrotum through the inguinal canal. INSL3 acts as a significant biomarker for Leydig cell differentiation in the fetus and may be reduced by maternal exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as xenoestrogens or phthalates, leading to cryptorchidism. INSL3 may have other roles within the fetus, but as a Leydig cell biomarker its reduction acts also as a surrogate for anti-androgen action.
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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.