Exploring the role of mononuclear phagocytes in the epididymis

• Main Authors: Nicolas Da Silva, Tegan B Smith
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2015-01-01
• Series: Asian Journal of Andrology
• Subjects: gene regulation; Musashi; Musashi-1; Musashi-2; posttranscriptional control; RNA binding proteins; spermatogenesis; splicing; testis; translation; cell fate; cell stress; importin; karyopherin; nucleocytoplasmic transport; spermatid; spermatocyte; artificial insemination; biomarker; fertility; fertilization; flow cytometry; infertility; nanotechnology; oocyte activation; Postacrosomal Sheath WWI Domain Binding Protein; sperm; SPTRX3; thioredoxin; ubiquitin; ATP binding cassette transporters; albumin; high-density lipoprotein; lipid rafts; membrane fluidity; membrane microdomains; membrane packing; oxysterols; reverse cholesterol transport; sterol transporters; egg; heat shock protein A2; molecular chaperone; sperm-egg interactions; dehydrogenases; oxidases; peroxiredoxins; reactive oxygen species; spermatozoa; thiols; thioredoxins; antigen-presenting cells; autoimmunity; dendritic cells; epididymis; macrophages; peripheral tolerance; sperm maturation
• Online Access: http://www.ajandrology.com/article.asp?issn=1008-682X;year=2015;volume=17;issue=4;spage=591;epage=596;aulast=Da

The onslaught of foreign antigens carried by spermatozoa into the epididymis, an organ that has not demonstrated immune privilege, a decade or more after the establishment of central immune tolerance presents a unique biological challenge. Historically, the physical confinement of spermatozoa to the epididymal tubule enforced by a tightly interwoven wall of epithelial cells was considered sufficient enough to prevent cross talk between gametes and the immune system and, ultimately, autoimmune destruction. The discovery of an intricate arrangement of mononuclear phagocytes (MPs) comprising dendritic cells and macrophages in the murine epididymis suggests that we may have underestimated the existence of a sophisticated mucosal immune system in the posttesticular environment. This review consolidates our current knowledge of the physiology of MPs in the steady state epididymis and speculates on possible interactions between auto-antigenic spermatozoa, pathogens and the immune system by drawing on what is known about the immune system in the intestinal mucosa. Ultimately, further investigation will provide valuable information regarding the origins of pathologies arising as a result of autoimmune or inflammatory responses in the epididymis, including epididymitis and infertility.