TESTICULAR INJURY INDUCES CELL-MEDIATED AUTOIMMUNE-RESPONSE TO TESTIS

Studies on testis autoimmunity are needed for a better understanding o f immunological male infertility. Evidence has accumulated that the de layed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response plays a key role in the ind uction and/or maintenance of experimental autoimmune orchitis (EAO), a n animal model for human immunological male infertility or aspermatoge nesis. We report here that an antigen-specific DTH response to autolog ous testicular cells (TC) could be induced by bilateral testicular inj ury (trauma) in mice. Pretreatment of traumatized mice with a high dos e of cyclophosphamide (CY) enhances the DTH response in a dose-depende nt manner. The DTH response induced by testicular injury reaches its p eak on the ninth day. We have shown that the local passive transfer of the footpad reaction to normal recipients by T cells further defines the DTH reaction. These characteristics resemble those of the previous ly reported DTH response to syngeneic TC induced by subcutaneous immun ization with viable syngeneic crude TC. Our present injury model mimic s clinical testicular trauma; therefore, this testicular injury model can be very useful in studying the immunological mechanism of EAO and of human immunological male infertility.