title: The macrophages in testis function.
abstract: Testicular macrophages are the largest leukocyte population in the testis. Their environment is characterized by the seemingly contradictory needs for tolerance against the autoantigenic germ cells and the capacity to mount pro-inflammatory innate immune responses against invading pathogens. During the past years considerable progress has been made in our understanding how intracellular signaling events enable testicular macrophages to adequately respond to inflammatory stimuli with the capacity to clear pathogens, but avoid excessive tissue damage to maintain fertility. Moreover, new data add to our understanding that testicular macrophages play essential roles in normal testis homeostasis and fetal testicular development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Unit of Reproductive Biology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sudhanshu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhushan
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Unit of Reproductive Biology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Germany. Electronic address: andreas.meinhardt@anatomie.med.uni-giessen.de.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meinhardt
mesh_terms: D000072956:Adult Germline Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D047109:Fetal Development; D006801:Humans; D000073860:Immune Privilege; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007239:Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D007985:Leydig Cells / Q000502:physiology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013256:Steroids / Q000096:biosynthesis; D013737:Testis / Q000276:immunology*; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D013256:Steroids; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4