Germ cell apoptosis and survival in testicular inflammation.

Publisher: Blackwell Pub Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 0423506 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1439-0272 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03034569 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Andrologia Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: : Berlin : Blackwell Pub.
Original Publication: Berlin, Grosse

Apoptosis/*immunology ; Azoospermia/*immunology ; Orchitis/*immunology ; Spermatogonia/*pathology ; Testis/*pathology; Adult Germline Stem Cells/drug effects ; Adult Germline Stem Cells/physiology ; Animals ; Apoptosis/drug effects ; Azoospermia/drug therapy ; Azoospermia/pathology ; Biopsy ; Caspase Inhibitors/pharmacology ; Caspase Inhibitors/therapeutic use ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; Male ; Orchitis/complications ; Orchitis/pathology ; Spermatogenesis/drug effects ; Spermatogenesis/immunology ; Spermatogonia/immunology ; Testis/cytology ; Testis/immunology ; Urological Agents/pharmacology ; Urological Agents/therapeutic use

Male infertility is due to genetics, hormonal or environmental causes, or is idiopathic. Azoospermia is linked to local testicular microenvironment deregulation, with inflammatory cells present in the 15% of testicular biopsies of infertile patients. As widely reported, spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis are controlled by local immunoregulatory agents produced by immune and nonimmune cells. Moreover IL-6R, TNFR1, Fas and IL-1R are expressed on germ cells, indicating a direct action of pro-inflammatory agents on these cells. Beyond the known function of cytokines and nitric oxide on testicular function at the stable levels present in the normal testis, this review focalises on the effect of pro-inflammatory factors on germ cell survival and death when inflammatory conditions are established in the testis. As no cure for male infertility has been found up to the present, intracytoplasmic sperm injection is the therapeutic option for azoospermic patients who wish to achieve genetic parenthood. Therapies with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents in experimental models of testicular damage have been successful. However, clinical implementation is uncertain in cases with a prolonged inflammatory state of the testis. Therapies offering multiple approaches to treat infertility by restoring the spermatogonial stem cell niche and protecting germ cells from apoptosis should be considered.
(© 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)

UBA 20020150100104BA Universidad de Buenos Aires; Préstamo BID 2013. ANPCyT PICT 0497 Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica

Keywords: germ cells; immune cells; nitric oxide; pro-inflammatory cytokines; testis

0 (Caspase Inhibitors)
0 (Urological Agents)

Date Created: 20181221 Date Completed: 20190522 Latest Revision: 20190522

20231215

10.1111/and.13083

30569649