REVIEW

Mechanisms of testicular immune privilege

  • Tao WANG ,
  • Xueying FENG ,
  • Daishu HAN
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  • Department of Cell Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, China

Received date: 23 Aug 2010

Accepted date: 02 Nov 2010

Published date: 01 Feb 2011

Copyright

2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Abstract

The testis exhibits a distinctive form of immune privilege to protect the germ cells from the host immune attack. The property of testicular immune privilege was originally attributed to the blood-testis barrier in the seminiferous epithelium, which sequesters antigens. Recent studies have uncovered several levels of immune control besides the blood-testis barrier involved in the privilege of the testis, including the mechanisms of immune tolerance, reduced immune activation, localized active immunosuppression and antigen-specific immunoregulation. The somatic cells of the testis, especially Sertoli cells, play a key role in regulating the testicular immune privileged status. The constitutive expression of anti-inflammatory factors in the testis by somatic cells is essential for local immunosuppression. Growing evidence shows that androgens orchestrate the inhibition of proinflammatory factors and shift cytokine balance toward a tolerogenic environment. Disruption of these protective mechanisms, which may be caused by trauma, infection and genetic factors, can lead to orchitis and infertility. This review article highlights the unique immune environment of the testis, particularly focuses on the regulation of testicular immune privilege.

Cite this article

Tao WANG , Xueying FENG , Daishu HAN . Mechanisms of testicular immune privilege[J]. Frontiers in Biology, 2011 , 06(01) : 19 -30 . DOI: 10.1007/s11515-011-1010-4

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Special Funds for Major State Basic Research Project of China (No. 2007CB947504) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30971459).
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