Jiang Qiaoling, Cui Lina, Nie Xichen, Cai Hui, Zhang Wenxiu, Lu Xiaojian, Guo Yifei, Hotaling James M, Cairns Bradley R, Wang Xiaoyan, Guo Jingtao
The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
State Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Aging Cell. 2025 Jun;24(6):e70032. doi: 10.1111/acel.70032. Epub 2025 Mar 6.
Aging disrupts immune regulation, affecting tissue function and increasing vulnerability to various diseases. However, the effects of aging on immune cells within human testes are not well understood. In this study, we utilized single-cell RNA sequencing to profile immune cells from 33 human testis samples from individuals aged 21 to 69. Our analysis revealed key immune cell types, including CD8 T cells, monocytes, cDC2 cells, and various macrophage subtypes within the testes. We observed an age-related change in monocytes and MRC1 tissue-resident macrophage (TRM), a pattern consistent in both human and mouse testes. Individuals aged 40 and older showed notable shifts in pathways related to phagocytosis, cytokine signaling, and antigen presentation. Monocytes also exhibited pro-inflammatory characteristics, potentially contributing to the low-grade inflammation commonly associated with aging. Together, these findings provide insights into age-related immune cell alterations in human testes and uncover molecular mechanisms underlying these shifts, offering a valuable resource for understanding immune aging in the reproductive system.
衰老会破坏免疫调节，影响组织功能，并增加对各种疾病的易感性。然而，衰老对人类睾丸内免疫细胞的影响尚不清楚。在这项研究中，我们利用单细胞RNA测序对来自21至69岁个体的33个人类睾丸样本中的免疫细胞进行了分析。我们的分析揭示了关键的免疫细胞类型，包括睾丸内的CD8 T细胞、单核细胞、cDC2细胞和各种巨噬细胞亚型。我们观察到单核细胞和MRC1组织驻留巨噬细胞（TRM）存在与年龄相关的变化，这种模式在人类和小鼠睾丸中均一致。40岁及以上的个体在与吞噬作用、细胞因子信号传导和抗原呈递相关的途径中表现出显著变化。单核细胞还表现出促炎特征，可能导致与衰老相关的低度炎症。这些发现共同为人类睾丸中与年龄相关的免疫细胞改变提供了见解，并揭示了这些变化背后的分子机制，为理解生殖系统中的免疫衰老提供了宝贵资源。
