Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42469218›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Major urinary protein 1 modulates neuronal excitability in the medial prefrontal cortex in a male mouse model of affective empathy.

Kun Zhang, Dake Song, Yingying Zhang, Le Yang, Ban Feng, Ruixia Liu, Hengxin Gong, Longbiao Cui, Shanbo Ma, Yanwei Chen and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. 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

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

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

17 authors.

Kun Zhang *Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3852-6852
Dake Song *Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Yingying Zhang *Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Le Yang *Precision Pharmacy & Drug Development Center, Department of Pharmacy, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Ban FengShanghai Key Laboratory of Anaesthesiology and Brain Functional Modulation, Translational Research Institute of Brain and Brain-Like Intelligence, Clinical Research Center for Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Department of Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Ruixia LiuDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Hengxin GongDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Longbiao CuiDepartment of Clinical Psychology, School of Medical Psychology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0784-181X
Shanbo MaDepartment of Pharmacy, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Yanwei ChenDepartment of Neurosurgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Min WangDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Xinshang WangDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Yumei WuDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8524-1254
Ting BaiHunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Hunan Key Laboratory of Animal Models for Human Diseases, MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Center for Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Kun XiaHunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Hunan Key Laboratory of Animal Models for Human Diseases, MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Center for Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8090-6002
Minggao ZhaoDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. minggao@fmmu.edu.cn.
Shuibing LiuDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. liushb1974@aliyun.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9325-3474

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Affective empathy describes the capacity to share others' emotions, yet the molecular mechanisms governing individual differences in empathic sensitivity remain poorly understood. Using a male mouse model of social transmission of depression (STD), we demonstrated that STD‑sensitive observer mice exhibit heightened neuronal excitability and upregulated major urinary protein 1 (MUP1) expression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) compared with STD‑insensitive observer mice. Mechanistically, MUP1 drives the STD‑sensitive phenotype by modulating astrocytic glutamate transporter 1 (GLT1) to augment mPFC neuronal excitability. Via virtual screening, we identified two small‑molecule compounds (C25 and C11) that bidirectionally modulate STD‑related behaviors. In summary, our work establishes MUP1 as a master modulator of STD vulnerability, deciphers mechanisms driving heterogeneous affective empathy across individuals, and unveils actionable therapeutic candidates for empathy-related psychiatric illnesses.

Indexed as

DepressionEmpathyNeuronsPrefrontal CortexAnimalsAstrocytesBehavior, AnimalDisease Models, AnimalMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BL

Identifiers

PMID42469218
PMCPMC13493774

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.