ArticlePloS one2012
No difference in keratin thickness between inner and outer foreskins from elective male circumcisions in Rakai, Uganda.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed.
- Vaginal microbiomes and their pertinent social context: a microbial ecological review proffering AMR-STI acquisition and emergence.Biology of sex differences · 2026Review
- HIV Transmission and Immunology of the Male Reproductive Tract.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- HIV-1 transmission: modelling and direct visualization in the third dimension.Microscopy (Oxford, England) · 2023Review
- Immunohistological study of the density and distribution of human penile neural tissue: gradient hypothesis.International journal of impotence research · 2023Article
- How Does Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Reduce HIV Risk?Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2022Review
- Review
- The Effect of Gender-Affirming Medical Care on the Vaginal and Neovaginal Microbiomes of Transgender and Gender-Diverse People.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Review
- The biology of how circumcision reduces HIV susceptibility: broader implications for the prevention field.AIDS research and therapy · 2017Review
- Increases in Endogenous or Exogenous Progestins Promote Virus-Target Cell Interactions within the Non-human Primate Female Reproductive Tract.PLoS pathogens · 2016Article
- Visualization of HIV-1 interactions with penile and foreskin epithelia: clues for female-to-male HIV transmission.PLoS pathogens · 2015Article
- Towards a gender perspective in qualitative research on voluntary medical male circumcision in east and southern Africa.Global public health · 2015Article
- Male circumcision: a globally relevant but under-utilized method for the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.Annual review of medicine · 2014Review
- Article
- Differential compartmentalization of HIV-targeting immune cells in inner and outer foreskin tissue.PloS one · 2014Article
- Male Circumcision and HIV Transmission; What Do We Know?The open AIDS journal · 2014Article
- Sexually transmitted infections and male circumcision: a systematic review and meta-analysis.ISRN urology · 2013Article
- Male circumcision and human immunodeficiency virus infection: An update on randomized controlled trials and molecular evidences.International journal of health sciencesArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
It has been hypothesized that increased HIV acquisition in uncircumcised men may relate to a more thinly keratinized inner foreskin. However, published data are contradictory and potentially confounded by medical indications for circumcision. We tested the hypothesis that the inner foreskin was more thinly keratinized than the outer foreskin using tissues from 19 healthy, HIV-uninfected men undergoing routine prophylactic circumcision in Rakai, Uganda. Sections from 3 foreskin anatomic sites (inner, outer, and frenar band) were snap-frozen separately. Two independent laboratories each separately stained, imaged, and measured keratin thicknesses in a blinded fashion. There was no significant difference in keratin thickness between the inner (mean = 14.67±7.48 µm) and outer (mean = 13.30±8.49 µm) foreskin, or between the inner foreskin and the frenar band (mean = 16.91±12.42 µm). While the frenar band showed the greatest intra-individual heterogeneity in keratin thickness, there was substantial inter-individual variation seen in all regions. Measurements made by the two laboratories showed high correlation (r = 0.741, 95% CI, 0.533-0.864). We conclude that, despite inter- and intra-individual variability, keratin thickness was similar in the inner and outer foreskin of healthy Ugandan men, and that reduced keratin thickness is not likely to make the inner foreskin more susceptible to HIV acquisition.
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Registered trials
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