BIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION 78, 199–199 (2008)
DOI: 10.1095/biolreprod.107.067496
© 2008 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc.
Highlights
You are what your mother didn't eat. Studies in the exciting emerging field of Developmental Origins of Adult Disease established the linkage of environmental stresses during early development on adult onset disease but the mechanisms connecting these are not well understood. Now a paper by Watkins et al. on p. 299 demonstrates that a low protein maternal diet taken only during preimplantation embryonic stages dramatically affects adult hypertension, excess weight, and anxiety-related behavior. Moreover, the embryo-derived visceral yolk sac endoderm was identified as one mediator of this effect. This system normally protects the embryo from poor nutrition but in doing so has long term negative effects on adult health as a consequence.
Adam J. Watkins, Elizabeth Ursell, Rose Panton, Thomas Papenbrock, Lisa Hollis, Colm Cunningham, Adrian Wilkins, V. Hugh Perry, Bhavwanti Sheth, Wing Yee Kwong, Judith J. Eckert, Arthur E. Wild, Mark A. Hanson, Clive Osmond, and Tom P. Fleming. Adaptive Responses by Mouse Early Embryos to Maternal Diet Protect Fetal Growth but Predispose to Adult Onset Disease. Biol Reprod 2008; 78:299–306. Published online in BOR-Papers In Press 7 November 2007; DOI 10.1095/biolreprod.107.064220
Immune and reproductive system cross-talk. Although it is well established that immune and steroidogenic (Leydig) cells communicate in the interstitium of the testis, the seminiferous tubules have been considered to be immune-privileged sites; indeed, their intra-luminal compartment allows the production by sperm of many proteins that are different from self. The establishment of this immune-privileged environment has long been attributed to the blood-testis barrier. However, Dal Secco et al., in an article on p. 234, have now shown that Sertoli cells play an active role in creating such an immune-privileged setting. Using a mouse model and cell cocultures, they show that Sertoli cells actively interact with T cells. Sertoli cells are able to down regulate the local immune response by two distinct mechanisms: by directly inhibiting CD8+ T cell proliferation and by inducing regulatory T-cells capable of suppressing other T cell populations. These findings open new avenues for understanding immune response and regulation of testicular function.
Valentina Dal Secco, Anna Riccioli, Fabrizio Padula, Elio Ziparo, and Antonio Filippini. Mouse Sertoli Cells Display Phenotypical and Functional Traits of Antigen-Presenting Cells in Response to Interferon Gamma. Biol Reprod 2008; 78:234–242. Published online in BOR-Papers In Press 7 November 2007; DOI 10.1095/biolreprod.107.063578
