Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39730393›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2024

Intratesticular creatine maintains spermatogenesis by defining tight junctions.

Sohei Kuribayashi, Shinichiro Fukuhara, Hiroaki Kitakaze, Go Tsujimura, Takahiro Imanaka, Norichika Ueda, Kentaro Takezawa, Masahito Ikawa, Norio Nonomura

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing 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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Creatine kinase regulates energy metabolism and growth of trophoblasts.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. 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

9 authors.

Sohei KuribayashiDepartment of Urology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, 565-0871, Osaka, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-0564-6404
Shinichiro FukuharaDepartment of Urology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, 565-0871, Osaka, Japan. fukuhara@uro.med.osaka-u.ac.jp.ORCID 0000-0003-1336-4316
Hiroaki KitakazeDepartment of Urology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, 565-0871, Osaka, Japan.
Go TsujimuraDepartment of Urology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, 565-0871, Osaka, Japan.
Takahiro ImanakaDepartment of Urology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, 565-0871, Osaka, Japan.
Norichika UedaDepartment of Urology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, 565-0871, Osaka, Japan.
Kentaro TakezawaDepartment of Urology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, 565-0871, Osaka, Japan.
Masahito IkawaResearch Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, 565-0871, Osaka, Japan.
Norio NonomuraDepartment of Urology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, 565-0871, Osaka, Japan.

Funding

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science A21H03067
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

One in five couples who wish to conceive is infertile, and half of these couples have male infertility. However, the causes of male infertility are still largely unknown. Creatine is stored in the body as an energy buffer, and the testes are its second-largest reservoir after muscles. Further, even though intratesticular creatine levels have long been known to decrease in male patients with infertility, its role in the testis is unknown. We investigated the intratesticular role of creatine, specifically in the context of the creatine synthesizing enzyme Gamt, and the creatine transporter Slc6a8. The Slc6a8 knockout mice showed no abnormalities in spermatogenesis. While Gamt knockout mice formed spermatozoa, they demonstrated reduced sperm count and decreased sperm motility and fertilization rate. Additionally, intratesticular creatine in Gamt knockout mice was significantly decreased, resulting in the disruption of tight junctions, which could be rectified by creatine supplementation, as was evidenced by the improved sperm count and fertilization rate in these mice. In conclusion, we identified creatine as being required for the maintenance of the tight junction in the testis.

Indexed as

CreatineMice, KnockoutSpermatogenesisTestisTight JunctionsAnimalsGuanidinoacetate N-MethyltransferaseInfertility, MaleMaleMembrane Transport ProteinsMicePlasma Membrane Neurotransmitter Transport ProteinsSpermatozoaSperm CountSperm MotilityCreatinecreatine transporterGuanidinoacetate N-MethyltransferaseMembrane Transport ProteinsPlasma Membrane Neurotransmitter Transport ProteinsCreatineGamtMale infertilityTestis-blood-barrier

Identifiers

PMID39730393
PMCPMC11680987

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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.