Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41126281›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of medical research2025

Tdrd15 is dispensable for male fertility and spermatogenesis in the golden hamster.

Miao Zhu, Yijian Xiang, Haodong Wang, Shanmeizi Zhao, Wentao Zeng, Jianmin Li, Bing Yao

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of medical research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

7 authors.

Miao Zhu *Department of Reproductive Medicine, Jinling Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China.
Yijian Xiang *State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
Haodong Wang *State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
Shanmeizi ZhaoDepartment of Reproductive Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, China. zhaoshanmeizi@sohu.com.
Wentao ZengState Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Jiangsu Laboratory Animal Center, Jiangsu Animal Experimental Center of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Cell Biology, Animal Core Facility, Key Laboratory of Model Animal, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China. wentaozeng@njmu.edu.cn.
Jianmin LiState Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Jiangsu Laboratory Animal Center, Jiangsu Animal Experimental Center of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Cell Biology, Animal Core Facility, Key Laboratory of Model Animal, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China. jianminlilab@njmu.edu.cn.
Bing YaoState Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China. yaobing@nju.edu.cn.

Funding

2024 Annual Science and Technology Innovation Research Program Project of Nanjing Jinling Hospital 2024JCYJQN115Jiangsu Commission of Health JSDW202215Jiangsu Funding Program for Excellent Postdoctoral Talent 2024ZB593Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China 2021YFF0702500National Natural Science Foundation of China U22A20277the Key Program of State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health SKLRM-2024A2
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tudor domain-containing proteins (TDRDs) constitute an evolutionarily conserved protein family and are critical for germline development and piRNA pathway regulation, with established roles in male fertility. While multiple TDRD family members have been functionally linked to spermatogenic impairment, the precise biological role of TDRD15 remains to be elucidated. We used CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing to generate Tdrd15 knockout (KO) golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), a model necessitated by the absence of a functional Tdrd15 ortholog in the mouse genome, to investigate its function in male reproduction. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that TDRD15 is strongly conserved among eutherian mammals, with testis-restricted expression patterns in hamsters. Despite the successful induction of frameshift mutations and significant transcriptional knockdown, Tdrd15 KO males maintained normal fertility parameters, including unaltered testicular architecture, spermatogenic progression (confirmed by periodic acidic-Schiff (PAS) staining and immunohistochemistry), and sperm quality metrics determined using a computer-assisted analysis. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) revealed compensatory overexpression of paralogous Tdrd genes in KO testes, implying functional redundancy within this protein family. This study provides the first experimental evidence that TDRD15 is dispensable for male fertility in golden hamsters under physiological conditions, thereby challenging the prevailing assumptions of its obligatory function in spermiogenesis. Altogether, these findings support a more targeted allocation of research efforts within the field of male reproductive biology.

Indexed as

FertilitySpermatogenesisAnimalsCricetinaeMaleMesocricetusPhylogenyTestisFertilityGene compensationSpermatogenesisTdrd15

Identifiers

PMID41126281
PMCPMC12548254

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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.