Polycaprolactone/Testicular Extracellular Matrix/Graphene Oxide-Based Electrospun Tubular Scaffolds for Reproductive Medicine: Biomimetic Architecture of Seminiferous Tubules
other
OA: bronze
public-domain-us
AI-generated summary
Researchers fabricated electrospun tubular scaffolds from polycaprolactone, testicular extracellular matrix, and graphene oxide to mimic seminiferous tubules, finding the 0.5% GO formulation offered superior morphology, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility.
One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works
AI-generated deep summary
The paper studies the fabrication and evaluation of biomimetic, electrospun tubular scaffolds intended for reproductive medicine by decellularizing testicular tissue to extract extracellular matrix (ECM) and incorporating it into polycaprolactone (PCL) fibers with varying graphene oxide (GO) concentrations (0.5%, 1%, 2%). They assess decellularization efficacy (DAPI, H&E, DNA quantification), confirm ECM component presence (Alcian blue, Orcein, Masson’s trichrome), and characterize scaffold physicochemical, structural, degradation, mechanical, and cytocompatibility performance (FTIR, SEM, degradation tests, mechanical testing, MTT assay) plus in vivo biocompatibility. The PCL/decellularized ECM scaffold with 0.5% GO shows the best fiber morphology, improved mechanical properties, and higher in vitro biocompatibility than other formulations, and is presented as a candidate platform for in vitro spermatogenesis with spermatogonial cells. The paper does not state specific limitations beyond the described evaluations, and it focuses on scaffold performance rather than demonstrating functional sperm production in the reported text. Relevance to endometriosis: endometrium/endometriosis research is referenced in author affiliations and at least one co-author is affiliated with an “Endometrium and Endometriosis Research Center,” though the scaffold topic is testicular seminiferous tubule bioengineering rather than endometriosis or adenomyosis mechanisms or therapies.
Read from the paper's body, not the abstract. Not a substitute for reading the paper. No clinical advice. How this works
Abstract
Numerous scaffolds are developed in the field of testicular bioengineering. However, effectively replicating the spatial characteristics of native tissue, poses a challenge in maintaining the requisite cellular arrangement essential for spermatogenesis. In order to mimic the structural properties of seminiferous tubules, the objective is to fabricate a biocompatible tubular scaffold. Following the decellularization process of the testicular tissue, validation of cellular remnants' elimination from the specimens is conducted using 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining, hematoxylin and eosin staining, and DNA content analysis. The presence of extracellular matrix (ECM) components is confirmed through Alcian blue, Orcein, and Masson's trichrome staining techniques. The electrospinning technique is employed to synthesize the scaffolds using polycaprolactone (PCL), extracted ECM, and varying concentrations of graphene oxide (GO) (0.5%, 1%, and 2%). Subsequently, comprehensive evaluations are performed to assess the properties of the synthetic scaffolds. These evaluations encompass Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy imaging, scaffold degradation testing, mechanical behavior analysis, methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay, and in vivo biocompatibility assessment. The PCL/decellularized extracellular matrix with 0.5% GO formulation exhibits superior fiber morphology and enhanced mechanical properties, and outperforms other groups in terms of in vitro biocompatibility. Consequently, these scaffolds present a viable option for implementation in "in vitro spermatogenesis" procedures, holding promise for future sperm production from spermatogonial cells.
Full text
14,586 characters
· extracted from
oa-doi-fallback
· click to expand
Polycaprolactone/Testicular Extracellular Matrix/Graphene Oxide-Based Electrospun Tubular Scaffolds for Reproductive Medicine: Biomimetic Architecture of Seminiferous Tubules
Amirhossein Mohammadi
Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 88770048 Iran
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1449614525 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMorteza Koruji
Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 88770048 Iran
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1449614525 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMahmoud Azami
Department of Tissue Engineering, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1417755469 Iran
Joint Reconstruction Research Center (JRRC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1417755469 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorRonak Shabani
Reproductive Sciences and Technology Research Center, Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1449614535 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorSanam Mohandesnezhad
Department of Tissue Engineering, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1417755469 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorZahra Bashiri
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1449614525 Iran
Endometrium and Endometriosis Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, 6517789971 Iran
Omid Fertility & Infertility Clinic, Hamedan, 6516796198 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Hamidreza Asgari
Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 88770048 Iran
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1449614525 Iran
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAmirhossein Mohammadi
Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 88770048 Iran
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1449614525 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMorteza Koruji
Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 88770048 Iran
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1449614525 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMahmoud Azami
Department of Tissue Engineering, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1417755469 Iran
Joint Reconstruction Research Center (JRRC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1417755469 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorRonak Shabani
Reproductive Sciences and Technology Research Center, Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1449614535 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorSanam Mohandesnezhad
Department of Tissue Engineering, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1417755469 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorZahra Bashiri
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1449614525 Iran
Endometrium and Endometriosis Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, 6517789971 Iran
Omid Fertility & Infertility Clinic, Hamedan, 6516796198 Iran
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Hamidreza Asgari
Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 88770048 Iran
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1449614525 Iran
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Numerous scaffolds are developed in the field of testicular bioengineering. However, effectively replicating the spatial characteristics of native tissue, poses a challenge in maintaining the requisite cellular arrangement essential for spermatogenesis. In order to mimic the structural properties of seminiferous tubules, the objective is to fabricate a biocompatible tubular scaffold. Following the decellularization process of the testicular tissue, validation of cellular remnants' elimination from the specimens is conducted using 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining, hematoxylin and eosin staining, and DNA content analysis. The presence of extracellular matrix (ECM) components is confirmed through Alcian blue, Orcein, and Masson's trichrome staining techniques. The electrospinning technique is employed to synthesize the scaffolds using polycaprolactone (PCL), extracted ECM, and varying concentrations of graphene oxide (GO) (0.5%, 1%, and 2%). Subsequently, comprehensive evaluations are performed to assess the properties of the synthetic scaffolds. These evaluations encompass Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy imaging, scaffold degradation testing, mechanical behavior analysis, methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay, and in vivo biocompatibility assessment. The PCL/decellularized extracellular matrix with 0.5% GO formulation exhibits superior fiber morphology and enhanced mechanical properties, and outperforms other groups in terms of in vitro biocompatibility. Consequently, these scaffolds present a viable option for implementation in “in vitro spermatogenesis” procedures, holding promise for future sperm production from spermatogonial cells.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
- 1M. C. Inhorn, P. Patrizio, Hum. Reprod. Update 2015, 21, 411.
- 2M. E. Thoma, A. C. Mclain, J. F. Louis, R. B. King, A. C. Trumble, R. Sundaram, G. M. Buck Louis, Fertil. Steril. 2013, 99, 1324.
- 3S. Esteves, Asian J. Androl. 2015, 17, 459.
- 4S. Esteves, Anim. Reprod. 2018, 12, 62.
- 5G. Colpi, G. Contalbi, F. Nerva, P. Sagone, G. Piediferro, Eur. J. Obstet. Gynecol. Reprod. Biol. 2004, 113, S2.
- 6G. Bahadur, R. Chatterjee, D. Ralph, Hum. Reprod. 2000, 15, 1416.
- 7W. H. B. Wallace, R. A. Anderson, D. S. Irvine, Lancet Oncol. 2005, 6, 209.
- 8A. Shams, N. Eslahi, M. Movahedin, F. Izadyar, H. Asgari, M. Koruji, Curr. Stem Cell Res. Ther. 2017, 12, 544.
- 9Z. Ma, M. Kotaki, R. Inai, S. Ramakrishna, Tissue Eng. 2005, 11, 101.
- 10B. D. Smith, D. A. Grande, Nat. Rev. Rheumatol. 2015, 11, 213.
- 11F.-M. Chen, X. Liu, Prog. Polym. Sci. 2016, 53, 86.
- 12D. H. Reneker, I. Chun, Nanotechnology 1996, 7, 216.
- 13H.-J. Kuo, C. L. Maslen, D. R. Keene, R. W. Glanville, J. Biol. Chem. 1997, 272, 26522.
- 14S. Wang, R. Sekiguchi, W. P. Daley, K. M. Yamada, J. Cell Biol. 2017, 216, 559.
- 15R. O. Hynes, Science 2009, 326, 1216.
- 16M. S. Gholami Farashah, M. Javadi, A. Mohammadi, J. Soleimani Rad, S. K. Shakouri, L. Roshangar, Mol. Biol. Rep. 2022, 49, 12203.
- 17J. F. Hastings, J. N. Skhinas, D. Fey, D. R. Croucher, T. R. Cox, Br. J. Pharmacol. 2019, 176, 82.
- 18Z. Bashiri, I. Amiri, M. Gholipourmalekabadi, R. Falak, H. Asgari, C. B. Maki, A. Moghaddaszadeh, M. Koruji, Biomater. Sci. 2021, 9, 3465.
- 19M. H. Murdock, S. David, I. T. Swinehart, J. E. Reing, K. Tran, K. Gassei, K. E. Orwig, S. F. Badylak, Tissue Eng., Part A 2019, 25, 663.
- 20T. R. Topraggaleh, M. R. Valojerdi, L. Montazeri, H. Baharvand, Biomater. Sci. 2019, 7, 1422.
- 21S. Politi, F. Carotenuto, A. Rinaldi, P. Di Nardo, V. Manzari, M. C. Albertini, R. Araneo, S. Ramakrishna, L. Teodori, Nanomaterials 2020, 10, 1781.
- 22M. P. Francis, P. C. Sachs, P. A. Madurantakam, S. A. Sell, L. W. Elmore, G. L. Bowlin, S. E. Holt, J. Biomed. Mater. Res., Part A 2012, 100, 1716.
- 23R. Grant, J. Hallett, S. Forbes, D. Hay, A. Callanan, Sci. Rep. 2019, 9, 6293.
- 24R. Sobreiro-Almeida, D. R. Fonseca, N. M. Neves, Mater. Sci. Eng., C 2019, 103, 109866.
- 25L. Buttafoco, N. G. Kolkman, P. Engbers-Buijtenhuijs, A. A. Poot, P. J. Dijkstra, I. Vermes, J. Feijen, Biomaterials 2006, 27, 724.
- 26E. Ahmadian, A. Eftekhari, D. Janas, P. Vahedi, Nanotheranostics 2023, 7, 61.
- 27T. K. Dash, V. B. Konkimalla, J. Controlled Release 2012, 158, 15.
- 28M. J. Mochane, T. S. Motsoeneng, E. R. Sadiku, T. C. Mokhena, J. S. Sefadi, Appl. Sci. 2019, 9, 2205.
- 29F. Alemi, R. Zarezadeh, A. R. Sadigh, H. Hamishehkar, M. Rahimi, M. Majidinia, Z. Asemi, A. Ebrahimi-Kalan, B. Yousefi, N. Rashtchizadeh, J. Drug Delivery Sci. Technol. 2020, 60, 101974.
- 30S. Faraji, N. Nowroozi, A. Nouralishahi, J. Shabani Shayeh, Life Sci. 2020, 257, 118062.
- 31W. C. Lee, C. H. Y. X. Lim, H. Shi, L. A. L. Tang, Y. Wang, C. T. Lim, K. P. Loh, ACS Nano 2011, 5, 7334.
- 32E. Pinar, A. Sahin, S. Unal, O. Gunduz, F. Harman, E. Kaptanoglu, Eur. Polym. J. 2022, 165, 111000.
- 33M. Robinson, E. Bedford, L. Witherspoon, S. M. Willerth, R. Flannigan, bioRxiv 2021, 447126. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.04.447126
10.1101/2021.06.04.447126Google Scholar
- 34M. Robinson, E. Bedford, L. Witherspoon, S. M. Willerth, R. Flannigan, F&S Sci. 2022, 3, 130.
- 35Y. Yang, Q. Lin, C. Zhou, Q. Li, Z. Li, Z. Cao, J. Liang, H. Li, J. Mei, Q. Zhang, Q.i Xiang, W. Xue, Y. Huang, Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 2020, 8, 250.
- 36Y. Baert, K. Dvorakova-Hortova, H. Margaryan, E. Goossens, Biofabrication 2019, 11, 035011.
- 37A. Jabari, K. Gholami, F. Khadivi, M. Koruji, F. Amidi, M. A. S. Gilani, V. P. Mahabadi, A. Nikmahzar, M. Salem, S. A. Movassagh, N. Feizollahi, M. Abbasi, Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2023, 235, 123801.
- 38Z. Bashiri, M. Zahiri, H. Allahyari, B. Esmaeilzade, Andrologia 2022, 54, e14380.
- 39M. Janmohammadi, M. S. Nourbakhsh, Int. J. Polym. Mater. Polym. Biomater. 2019, 68, 527.
- 40B. P. Chan, K. W. Leong, Eur. Spine J. 2008, 17, 467.
- 41M. E. Scarrit, Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 2015, 3, 43.
- 42N. Khoshnood, A. Zamanian, Int. J. Bioprint. 2020, 20, e00095.
- 43Y. S. Kim, M. Majid, A. J. Melchiorri, A. G. Mikos, Bioeng. Transl. Med. 2019, 4, 83.
- 44B. B. Rothrauff, R. S. Tuan, Biochem. Soc. Trans. 2020, 48, 755.
- 45J. Zheng, Y. Liu, C. Hou, Z. Li, S. Yang, X. Liang, L. Zhou, J. Guo, J. Zhang, X. Huang, Int J Bioprint 2022, 8, 597.
- 46B. Bonandrini, M. Figliuzzi, E. Papadimou, M. Morigi, N. Perico, F. Casiraghi, C. Dipl, F. Sangalli, S. Conti, A. Benigni, A. Remuzzi, G. Remuzzi, Tissue Eng., Part A 2014, 20, 1486.
- 47G. F. Weinbauer, C. M. Luetjens, M. Simoni, E. Nieschlag, in Andrology: Male Reproductive Health and Dysfunction, Springer, Berlin 2010, pp. 11–59.
10.1007/978-3-540-78355-8_2Google Scholar
- 48Z. Bashiri, M. R. Fomeshi, H. G. Hamidabadi, D. Jafari, S. Alizadeh, M. N. Bojnordi, G. Orive, A. Dolatshahi-Pirouz, M. Zahiri, R. L. Reis, S. C. Kundu, M. Gholipourmalekabadi, Mater. Today Bio 2023, 20, 100666.
- 49C. J. Angammana, S. H. Jayaram, Part. Sci. Technol. 2016, 34, 72.
- 50W. Zhang, L. Yan, M. Li, R. Zhao, X. Yang, T. Ji, Z. Gu, J.-J. Yin, X. Gao, G. Nie, Toxicol. Lett. 2015, 237, 61.
- 51P. M. Crapo, T. W. Gilbert, S. F. Badylak, Biomaterials 2011, 32, 3233.
- 52M. C. Moore, V. Pandolfi, P. S. Mcfetridge, Biomaterials 2015, 49, 37.
- 53C. C. Xu, R. W. Chan, N. Tirunagari, Tissue Eng. 2007, 13, 551.
- 54Z. Bashiri, M. Gholipourmalekabadi, R. Falak, I. Amiri, H. Asgari, N. P. S. Chauhan, M. Koruji, Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2022, 217, 824.
- 55C. Zhang, L. Wang, T. Zhai, X. Wang, Y.i Dan, L.-S. Turng, J. Mech. Behav. Biomed. Mater. 2016, 53, 403.
- 56S. Ramazani, M. Karimi, Polym. Compos. 2016, 37, 131.
- 57M. Gozutok, V. Sadhu, H. T. Sasmazel, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 2019, 19, 4292.
- 58J. Song, H. Gao, G. Zhu, X. Cao, X. Shi, Y. Wang, Carbon 2015, 95, 1039.
- 59S. Mohammadi, S. S. Shafiei, M. Asadi-Eydivand, M. Ardeshir, M. Solati-Hashjin, J. Bioact. Compat. Polym. 2017, 32, 325.
- 60F. Asgari, H. R. Asgari, M. Najafi, B. S. Eftekhari, M. Vardiani, M. Gholipourmalekabadi, M. Koruji, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Med. 2021, 32, 47.
- 61S. Wu, X. Liu, K. W. K. Yeung, C. Liu, X. Yang, Mater. Sci. Eng.: R: Rep. 2014, 80, 1.
- 62J.-T. Jeong, M.-K.i Choi, Y. Sim, J.-T. Lim, G.-S. Kim, M.-J.e Seong, J.-H. Hyung, K. S. Kim, A. Umar, S.-K. Lee, Sci. Rep. 2016, 6, 33835.
- 63B. Chaudhuri, D. Bhadra, L. Moroni, K. Pramanik, Biofabrication 2015, 7, 015009.
- 64S. H. Ku, C. B. Park, Biomaterials 2013, 34, 2017.
- 65Y. Zhang, C. Wu, S. Guo, J. Zhang, Nanotechnol. Rev. 2013, 2, 27.
- 66G. Khang, S. J. Lee, M. S. Kim, H. B. Lee, Encycl. Med. Dev. Instrum. 2006, 2, 366.
- 67F. Lyons, S. Partap, F. J. O'brien, Technol. Health Care 2008, 16, 305.
- 68Z. Bashiri, A. Moghaddaszadeh, R. Falak, F. Khadivi, A. Afzali, M. Abbasi, A. M. Sharifi, H. R. Asgari, F. Ghanbari, M. Koruji, Macromol. Biosci. 2023, 23, 2200574.
- 69A. Rahmanian-Schwarz, M. Held, T. Knoeller, S. Stachon, T. Schmidt, H.-E. Schaller, L. Just, J. Biomed. Mater. Res., Part A 2014, 102, 1173.
Citing Literature
Article Metrics
Total unique accesses to an article’s full text in HTML or PDF/ePDF format.More metric information
Scite metrics
Explore this article's citation statements on scite.ai
Share QR Code
Generating QR code
QR code copied to clipboard!
Something went wrong while generating your QR code. Please try again in a moment. If the issue persists, refresh the page or contact support.
Export citation
Unable to load citation data. Please try again in a moment.
How to cite
Elkins, L. J., & Spiegelman, M. (2021). pyUserCalc: A revised Jupyter notebook calculator for uranium-series disequilibria in basalts. Earth and Space Science, 8, e2020EA001619. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EA001619
Download Citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click on download.
This feature enables you to download the bibliographic information (also called citation data, header data, or metadata) for the articles on our site.
Citation manager file format
Use the dropdown list to choose how to format the bibliographic data you're harvesting. Several citation manager formats are available, including EndNote and BibTex. You can then copy the formatted citation (as displayed) or download it as file, to your device. If the RefWorks format is chosen, the 'Download' button will be replaced with an option to directly export to RefWorks
Text is read by the "Ask this paper" AI Q&A widget below. Extraction quality varies by source — PMC NXML preserves structure cleanly, OA-HTML may include some navigation residue, and OA-PDF can have broken hyphenation. The publisher copy (via DOI) is the canonical version.
My notes (saved in your browser only)
Ask this paper
Answers must be backed by verbatim quotes from this paper's full text. Hallucinated quotes are dropped automatically; if no verbatim passage answers the question, we say so. How this works
MeSH descriptors
Citation neighborhood (no data yet)
We don't have any in-corpus citations linked to this paper yet. This is a recent paper (2024) — citers typically take a year or two to land, and the OpenAlex reference graph may still be filling in.
Source provenance
- europepmc
- last seen: 2026-09-06T09:34:12.023084+00:00
- pubmed
- last seen: 2026-09-07T06:10:50.617611+00:00
- unpaywall
- last seen: 2026-05-15T02:00:00.661756+00:00
License: public-domain-us
· commercial use OK
· attribution required
Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine