Activation of innate immune system in response to lipopolysaccharide in chicken Sertoli cells

Abstract

Sertoli cells (SCs) play an important physiological role in the testis, as they support, nourish, and protect the germ cells. As protection of the developing spermatozoa is an emerging aspect of reproductive physiology, this study examined the expression pattern of innate immune-related genes, including avian b-defensins (AvBDs), Toll-like receptors (TLRs), and cytokines, and investigated the time course of an inflammatory response in rooster SCs triggered by exposure to the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). SCs were isolated from 6-week-old chicken, cultured in vitro, and stimulated with 1 mg/ml LPS at different time courses (0, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h). Data on expression analysis revealed that all ten members of the chicken TLR family, nine members of the AvBD family, as well as eight cytokine genes were expressed in SCs. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that LPS treatment resulted in significant induction of the expression levels of six TLRs, six AvBDs, and four cytokine genes, while two cytokine genes were downregulated and two other genes were unchanged. The increasing interleukin 1b (IL1b) production was confirmed in the conditioned medium. Furthermore, the phagocytosis of SCs was increased after LPS treatment. In conclusion, these findings provide evidence that SCs express innate immunerelated genes and respond directly to bacterial ligands. These genes represent an important component of the immune system, which could be integrated into semen, and present a distinctive constituent of the protective repertoire of the testis against ascending infections.

Transient scrotal hyperthermia affects human sperm DNA integrity, sperm apoptosis, and sperm protein expression

“…One explanation could be the low inhibitory effect of the hyperthermia used in this study on the spermatogenic process as indicated by the lowest mean total sperm count spermatozoa of about 50 million spermatozoa at week 6 (Rao et al ., ), a value of 15.4 million observed at day 37 in Sergerie's study (), and about 10 million at day 45 in Ahmad's study (), after the beginning of treatment. Moreover, the spermatozoa of patients with fever may be also affected by other factors such as endotoxin or inflammation (Brecchia et al ., ; Michailidis et al ., ; Parmar et al ., ). The absence of any significant increase in DFI in group 2 indicated more severe effects on sperm DNA fragmentation induced by consecutive heat exposure.…”

Salmonella enterica in the Chicken: How it has Helped Our Understanding of Immunology in a Non-Biomedical Model Species

“…The structure and function of the immune system of the avian reproductive has been recently reviewed, reflecting the considerable progress in our understanding of its structure and function made in the last few years ( 66 ). Infection by Salmonella or stimulation with LPS results in a local innate response and in particular secretion of gallinacins throughout the reproductive tract, but in particular the lower part of the oviduct and uterus ( 67 – 69 ). There is also an organized T lymphocyte structure in the developing tract and IL-4 expressed within the tract that can lead to specific IgA responses.…”

Induction of Chicken Host Defense Peptides within Disease-Resistant and -Susceptible Lines

“…Chicken cells respond to LPS and poly(I:C) in a similar manner that is generally comparable to other species. It has been reported that various cytokines and immune-related genes were induced in several chicken cell types by LPS and poly(I:C) [ 33 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ]. However, stimulation of HDPs by LPS or poly(I:C) is not yet well characterized in chicken.…”