Autoimmune orchitis and male infertility

LIVIA LUSTIG; KENNETH S.K.TUNG

The Autoimmune Diseases

Elsevier

Lugar: Cambridge, Ma; Año: 2006; p. 100 - 118

Human testicular autoimmune diseases remain incompletely defined, and should form a major focus of future research on this important disease. Nevertheless, research based on models of autoimmune orchitis has contributed significantly to understand interactions among immune cells and somatic and germ cells of the testis as well as  the overall concepts of autoimmune disease pathogenesis. The CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells play a central role in the control of immune reactivity. New targets for specific therapies may be developed by identifying the mechanisms by which regulatory cells function and the intracellular signaling cascades activated during autoimmune pathology. In addition, the recent finding of a single gene (AIRE) defect causing a systemic human autoimmune polyglandular syndrome provides an exciting tool for exploring  molecular therapy for these autoimmune diseases.