Zhao Shutao, Zhu Weiwei, Xue Shepu, Han Daishu
Cell Mol Immunol. 2014 Sep;11(5):428-37. doi: 10.1038/cmi.2014.38. Epub 2014 Jun 23.
The mammalian testis possesses a special immunological environment because of its properties of remarkable immune privilege and effective local innate immunity. Testicular immune privilege protects immunogenic germ cells from systemic immune attack, and local innate immunity is important in preventing testicular microbial infections. The breakdown of local testicular immune homeostasis may lead to orchitis, an etiological factor of male infertility. The mechanisms underlying testicular immune privilege have been investigated for a long time. Increasing evidence shows that both a local immunosuppressive milieu and systemic immune tolerance are involved in maintaining testicular immune privilege status. The mechanisms underlying testicular innate immunity are emerging based on the investigation of the pattern recognition receptor-mediated innate immune response in testicular cells. This review summarizes our current understanding of testicular defense mechanisms and identifies topics that merit further investigation.
哺乳动物的睾丸具有特殊的免疫环境，因为它具有显著的免疫特权特性和有效的局部固有免疫。睾丸免疫特权可保护免疫原性生殖细胞免受全身免疫攻击，而局部固有免疫对于预防睾丸微生物感染很重要。睾丸局部免疫稳态的破坏可能导致睾丸炎，这是男性不育的一个病因。睾丸免疫特权的潜在机制已经研究了很长时间。越来越多的证据表明，局部免疫抑制环境和全身免疫耐受都参与维持睾丸免疫特权状态。基于对睾丸细胞中模式识别受体介导的固有免疫反应的研究，睾丸固有免疫的潜在机制正在逐渐显现。本综述总结了我们目前对睾丸防御机制的理解，并确定了值得进一步研究的主题。
