[Establishment of murine model of autoimmune male infertility].
BACKGROUND
Experimental autoimmune orchitis (EAO) has been studied as an animal model for human immunological male infertility. We have already reported the induction of contralateral EAO ("sympathetic orchitis") by unilateral testicular injury in mice. In this paper, we report the induction of autoimmune infertility in such mice as well as EAO.


METHODS
Ten to 20 needle punctures were made to the unilateral testis of mice and it was crushed by a needle-holder. Such mice were mated in vivio with female mice.


RESULTS
Fifty to 80% mice whose testis was injured unilaterally became infertile in 3 months. Delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH), one of the cell-mediated immunities, to autologous testicular cells (TC) as well as anti-TC antibodies, humoral immunity, were both detected in those mice.


CONCLUSIONS
We have clearly shown that unilateral testicular injury could induce not only the contralateral EAO but also autoimmune infertility in mice. Our present injury model mimics 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.
Sakamoto
Y
Y
Department of Urology, JR Kyushu Hospital.
Matsumoto
T
T
Kumazawa
J
J
D000818:Animals; D015551:Autoimmunity; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009920:Orchitis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology