{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T11:11:48Z","timestamp":1785409908670,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783555200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":38,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Zygote"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0967199426100513_as1\">\n                    <jats:title>Objective:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To investigate the role of the protein galectin-3 (Gal-3) and its effect on fibrosis and apoptosis in testicular tissues of patients with idiopathic non-obstructive azoospermia (iNOA).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0967199426100513_as2\">\n                    <jats:title>Design:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A prospective study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0967199426100513_as3\">\n                    <jats:title>Subject:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Male patients who needed testicular sperm extraction for assisted reproductive technology treatments.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0967199426100513_as4\">\n                    <jats:title>Exposure:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Tissue samples were obtained during microdissection testicular sperm extraction (mTESE) procedures from patients diagnosed as having azoospermia according to two semen analyses. Two groups were determined as sperm non-detected (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 8, TESE-) and detected (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 7, TESE+). Germ cells were morphologically evaluated using haematoxylin and eosin-stained sections and Johnsen scores. Immunohistochemical methods were used to evaluate Gal-3 expression and caspase-3-related apoptotic activity.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0967199426100513_as5\">\n                    <jats:title>Main outcome measures:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Gal-3 positivity, apoptosis and fibrosis indexes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0967199426100513_as6\">\n                    <jats:title>Results:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Gal-3 expression was significantly higher in the TESE- group (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.024). Gal-3 showed strong positivity in Sertoli Cells and cells in the interstitial area around the seminiferous tubules in the TESE- group.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0967199426100513_as7\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study highlights the potential role of Gal-3 in iNOA and its association with testicular fibrosis and impaired spermatogenesis. The absence of sperm retrieval was associated with increased Gal-3 expression, seminiferous tubule wall thickening, and enhanced apoptosis-related activity. These findings suggest that Gal-3 may contribute to inflammation- and fibrosis-related testicular damage in iNOA. However, further experimental and clinical studies are required to clarify the underlying molecular mechanisms of Gal-3 and determine its potential clinical significance in male infertility.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1017\/s0967199426100513","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T07:19:34Z","timestamp":1783581574000},"page":"139-147","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Unveiling the role of galectin-3 in patients with azoospermia: potential biomarker for male infertility"],"prefix":"10.1017","volume":"34","author":[{"given":"Ayse","family":"Altun Akp\u0131nar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03a5qrr21","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Istanbul University Faculty of 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The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press","name":"copyright","label":"Copyright","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.","name":"license","label":"License","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This content has been made available to all.","name":"free","label":"Free to read"}]}}