Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41909503›Full record

ArticleBioactive materials2026

Spatially resolved micromechanical characterisation of human testis tissue reveals distinct signatures across developing, adult and pathological tissue states.

I Andersson, N Ghanami Gashti, O R Mahon, S O'Meara, D Sugrue, J Wittschier, F Schneider, S Schlatt, N Neuhaus, N F Davis and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Bioactive materials, 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

15 authors.

I AnderssonBernal Institute and School of Engineering, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
N Ghanami GashtiBernal Institute and School of Engineering, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
O R MahonBernal Institute and School of Engineering, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
S O'MearaBlackrock Health, Blackrock Clinic, Dublin, Ireland.
D SugrueBlackrock Health, Blackrock Clinic, Dublin, Ireland.
J WittschierDepartment of Urology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
F SchneiderCentre of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology, Institute of Reproductive and Regenerative Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
S SchlattCentre of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology, Institute of Reproductive and Regenerative Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
N NeuhausCentre of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology, Institute of Reproductive and Regenerative Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
N F DavisStrategic Academic Recruitment Programme, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
R T MitchellRoyal Hospital for Children and Young People, Edinburgh, UK.
I M CullenBlackrock Health, Blackrock Clinic, Dublin, Ireland.
J HessDepartment of Urology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
J B StukenborgNORDFERTIL Research Lab Stockholm, Childhood Cancer Research Unit, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden.
E M CunnaneBernal Institute and School of Engineering, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Male reproductive health is in a state of decline that is characterised, in part, by an apparent global decrease in sperm concentrations. A functional preclinical model of the testis would provide an increased understanding of male reproductive health and facilitate the development of effective treatments for the rising incidence of male infertility. However, current preclinical models of the human testis have yet to successfully replicate the process of spermatogenesis, one of the primary functions of the testis. Understanding the micromechanical environment of the human testis could provide insights into overcoming the challenge of mimicking human spermatogenesis in vitro and aid in the development of representative material substrates for use in testicular models. This study characterised the mechanical properties of human testis tissue obtained from three cohorts, including adults undergoing microsurgical testicular sperm extraction (n = 6) and gender affirmation surgery (n = 24), and developmental tissues (foetal and adolescence) (n = 7). A nanoindentation technique, combined with histological investigation, was used to spatially characterise the elastic (Young's modulus) and viscoelastic properties (storage and loss moduli and Tan(δ)) of testis tissue across numerous morphological states. The tissue exhibited Young's modulus values between 0.1 and 1 kPa, while seminiferous tubules exhibited significantly higher Young's and storage moduli compared to interstitial space. Tan(δ) exhibited a significant negative correlation with spermatogenesis status in adult cohorts. This study informs the development of improved diagnostics for male infertility and facilitates the fabrication of mechanically representative material substrates for use in systems that aim to achieve in vitro spermatogenesis using human testicular cells.

Identifiers

PMID41909503
PMCPMC13022689

What Socratic 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 Socratic graph.