Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41394961›Full record

ArticleMedComm2025

Furin-Mediated Cleavage of Zona Pellucida Proteins Is Essential for Oocyte Development.

Tiechao Ruan, Xiang Wang, Xueguang Zhang, Yan Wang, Chuan Jiang, Sixian Wu, Yunchuan Tian, Xinyao Tang, Jun Ma, Shikun Zhao and 6 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in MedComm, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. 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

16 authors.

Tiechao RuanDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Xiang WangDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Xueguang ZhangDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Yan WangDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Chuan JiangDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Sixian WuDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Yunchuan TianDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Xinyao TangDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Jun MaDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Shikun ZhaoDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Liangchai ZhuoDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Mohan LiuDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Siyu DaiDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Zhenbo WangState Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.
Wenming XuDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.
Ying ShenDepartment of Obstetrics/Gynecology Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Disease of Women and Children of MOE West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6346-1002

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Zona pellucida (ZP) proteins, essential for oocyte development, undergo posttranslational regulation through furin-mediated cleavage. Nevertheless, our understanding of the functional significance of furin-mediated cleavage of ZP proteins in female reproduction remains limited. Here, using mouse models with disrupted furin cleavage sites in ZP1, ZP2, and ZP3, we found that loss of the furin site in ZP2 caused female infertility associated with empty follicle syndrome (EFS), manifested by the failure to retrieve oocytes after ovarian hyperstimulation. In contrast, female mice carrying cleavage-resistant variants at the furin sites of ZP1 and ZP3 exhibited defective ZP in a subset of oocytes, leading to reduced fecundity. Mechanistically, disruption of the furin cleavage site in ZP2 impaired the transmembrane transport of the non-cleaved ZP2 protein and subsequently reduced the levels of SNARE proteins, ultimately triggering oocyte apoptosis through activation of the p53 and PI3K signaling pathways. Collectively, we uncovered the essential role of furin-mediated cleavage of ZP proteins in female fertility and provided new mechanistic insights into the pathogenesis of EFS. These findings open new avenues for investigating the contribution of posttranslational modifications to female reproduction and for developing potential therapeutic strategies to treat female infertility.

Indexed as

empty follicle syndromefemale infertilityfurin cleavageposttranslational modificationzona pellucida

Identifiers

PMID41394961
PMCPMC12701285

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.