Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42500910›Full record

ArticleEndocrinology2026

Compartmentalization of DHCR7 links 7-DHC metabolism to B-ring unsaturated steroid synthesis in the equine fetal gonad.

Katarzyna Malin, Alan J Conley, Margo Verstraete, Jamie Norris, Ya-Chen Hsu, William Holl, Machteld van Heule, Flávia Vieira, Kirsten E Scoggin, Barry Ball and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Endocrinology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

15 authors.

Katarzyna MalinDepartment of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Alan J ConleyDepartment of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Margo VerstraeteDepartment of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Jamie NorrisDepartment of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Ya-Chen HsuWest Coast Metabolomics Center, Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
William HollDepartment of Pathobiological Sciences and Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Machteld van HeuleDepartment of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Flávia VieiraDepartment of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Kirsten E ScogginDepartment of Veterinary Science, Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA.
Barry BallDepartment of Veterinary Science, Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA.
Kazuki TakahashiDepartment of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Alejandro de la FuenteDepartment of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
John W NewmanWest Coast Metabolomics Center, Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Mariano CarossinoDepartment of Pathobiological Sciences and Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Pouya DiniDepartment of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5553-5967

Funding

Comparative Medical Science Training ProgramT32OD011147 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI JEROEN SAEIJ, Sara Michelle Thomasy · 2012 to 2026
$5.5M
John P. Hughes Endowment at the University of California, DavisKenneth Burns Endowed Chair in Veterinary Medicine at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine 2032-10700-003-000-DNational Institute of Health T32OD011147NIH HHS T32 OD011147State of California
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The endocrinology of equine pregnancy is unique, but many of its unusual phenomena closely resemble pregnancy in women. Placental estrone synthesis uses fetal adrenal androgen precursors in women, but from the fetal gonads in mares, peaking midway through the 11-month gestation. Unique to equine pregnancies, other estrogens like equilin, typified by an unsaturated B-ring sterol structure, are synthesized from 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC), the immediate precursor to cholesterol, without cholesterol formation, peaking later in gestation. Currently, the spatial and temporal regulation underlying the redirection of 7-DHC from cholesterol to B-ring unsaturated steroid synthesis in equine fetal gonads remains unknown. Here, we investigate the developmental dynamics of the equine fetal gonads from the fourth to eleventh gestational month using RNA sequencing, immunofluorescence imaging, RNAScope, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Our results suggest that placental estrone synthesis correlates with the expression of the last enzyme in the cholesterol synthesis pathway, 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR7) in the fetal gonad, and its downregulation may drive the accumulation of 7-DHC and the synthesis of B-ring unsaturated steroids. B-ring unsaturated steroid secretion is the hallmark of Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome in humans, resulting from mutations in the gene encoding DHCR7 in affected patients. This naturally occurring phenomenon in equine pregnancies may offer a unique comparative model for understanding the metabolic consequences of 7-DHC accumulation in these patients and a platform for drug development.

Indexed as

DehydrocholesterolsGonadsOxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group DonorsSteroidsAnimalsCholesterolFemaleFetusHorsesMalePlacentaPregnancy7-dehydrocholesterol7-dehydrocholesterol reductaseCholesterolDehydrocholesterolsOxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group DonorsSteroids7-dehydrocholesterolDHCEODHCR7equilinfetal gonadsmith-Lemli-Opitz

Identifiers

PMID42500910
PMCPMC13429798

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.