Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37982230›Full record

ArticleCell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.)2023

Epididymal segment-specific miRNA and mRNA regulatory network at the single cell level.

Tong Chen, Liangyu Yao, Wen Liu, Jiaochen Luan, Yichun Wang, Chao Yang, Xiang Zhou, Chengjian Ji, Xuejiang Guo, Zengjun Wang and 1 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Morphologic diversity of the epididymis in orchiectomy specimens: a multi-institutional study.Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology · 2026
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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

11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Tong ChenDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.ORCID 0000-0001-6786-0310
Liangyu YaoDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Wen LiuCenter for Reproductive Medicine, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Jiaochen LuanDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Yichun WangDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Chao YangDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Xiang ZhouDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Chengjian JiDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Xuejiang GuoState Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Zengjun WangDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Ninghong SongDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Jiangsu Province Hospital · CNNanjing Medical University · CNShandong University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Spermatozoa released from the testis cannot fertilize an egg before becoming mature and motile in the epididymis. Based on three bulk and one single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data series, we compared mRNA or miRNA expression between epididymal segment-specific samples and the other samples. Hereby, we identified 570 differentially expressed mRNAs (DE-mRNAs) and 23 differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) in the caput, 175 DE-mRNAs and 15 DE-miRNAs in the corpus, 946 DE-mRNAs and 12 DE-miRNAs in the cauda. In accordance with respective DE-miRNAs, we predicted upstream transcription factors (TFs) and downstream target genes. Subsequently, we intersected target genes of respective DE-miRNAs with corresponding DE-mRNAs, thereby obtaining 127 upregulated genes in the caput and 92 upregulated genes in cauda. Enriched upregulated pathways included cell motility-related pathways for the caput, smooth muscle-related pathways for the corpus, and immune-associated pathways for the cauda. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to extract key module for the caput and cauda, followed by identifying hub genes through cytohubba. Epididymis tissues from six mice were applied to validate hub genes expression using qRT-PCR, and 7 of the 10 genes displayed identical expression trends in mice caput/cauda. These hub genes were found to be predominantly distributed in spermatozoa using scRNA-seq data. In addition, target genes of DE-miRNAs were intersected with genes in the PPI network for each segment. Subsequently, the miRNA and mRNA regulatory networks for the caput and cauda were constructed. Conclusively, we uncover segment-specific miRNA-mRNA regulatory network, upstream TFs, and downstream pathways of the human epididymis, warranting further investigation into epididymal segment-specific functions.

Indexed as

MicroRNAsAnimalsEpididymisHumansMaleMiceRNA, MessengerSpermatozoaTestisMicroRNAsRNA, MessengerEpididymal segmentexpression distributionsingle cell level

Identifiers

PMID37982230
PMCPMC10732646
OpenAlexW4388828784

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.