Home  |   Archive  |   Online Submission  |   News & Events  |   Subscribe  |   APFA  |   Society  |   Contact Us  |   中文版
Search   
 
Journal

Ahead of print
Authors' Accepted
    Manuscripts
new!
Current Issue
Archive
Acknowledgments
Special Issues
Browse by Category

Manuscript Submission

Online Submission
Online Review
Instruction for Authors
Instruction for Reviewers
English Corner new!

About AJA

About AJA
Editorial Board
Contact Us
News

Resources & Services

Advertisement
Subscription
Email alert
Proceedings
Reprints

Download area

Copyright licence
EndNote style file
Manuscript word template
Guidance for AJA figures
    preparation (in English)

Guidance for AJA figures
    preparation (in Chinese)

Proof-reading for the
    authors

AJA Club (in English)
AJA Club (in Chinese)

 
Abstract

Volume 21, Issue 6 (November 2019) 21, 531–539; 10.4103/aja.aja_11_19

The epididymal immune balance: a key to preserving male fertility

Allison Voisin, Fabrice Saez, Joël R Drevet, Rachel Guiton

Team Mechanisms of Posttesticular Infertility, GReD Laboratory, CNRS UMR 6293 - INSERM U1103, University of Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand 63001, France

Correspondence: Dr. JR Drevet (joel.drevet@uca.fr) or Dr. R Guiton (rachel.guiton@uca.fr)

22-Mar-2019

Abstract

Up to 15% of male infertility has an immunological origin, either due to repetitive infections or to autoimmune responses mainly affecting the epididymis, prostate, and testis. Clinical observations and epidemiological data clearly contradict the idea that the testis confers immune protection to the whole male genital tract. As a consequence, the epididymis, in which posttesticular spermatozoa mature and are stored, has raised some interest in recent years when it comes to its immune mechanisms. Indeed, sperm cells are produced at puberty, long after the establishment of self-tolerance, and they possess unique surface proteins that cannot be recognized as self. These are potential targets of the immune system, with the risk of inducing autoantibodies and consequently male infertility. Epididymal immunity is based on a finely tuned equilibrium between efficient immune responses to pathogens and strong tolerance to sperm cells. These processes rely on incompletely described molecules and cell types. This review compiles recent studies focusing on the immune cell types populating the epididymis, and proposes hypothetical models of the organization of epididymal immunity with a special emphasis on the immune response, while also discussing important aspects of the epididymal immune regulation such as tolerance and tumour control.

Keywords: epididymis; immune response; lymphocytes; mononuclear phagocytes; tolerance

Full Text | PDF |

 
Browse:  1163
 
Asian Journal of Andrology CN 31-1795/R ISSN 1008-682X  Copyright © 2023  Shanghai Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences.  All rights reserved.