Sperm proteins and cancer-testis antigens are released by the seminiferous tubules in mice and men.

ABSTRACT: Sperm develop from puberty in the seminiferous tubules, inside the blood-testis barrier to prevent their recognition as "non-self" by the immune system, and it is widely assumed that human sperm-specific proteins cannot access the circulatory or immune systems. Sperm-specific proteins aberrantly expressed in cancer, known as cancer-testis antigens (CTAs), are often pursued as cancer biomarkers and therapeutic targets based on the assumption they are neoantigens absent from the circulation in healthy men. Here, we identify a wide range of germ cell-derived and sperm-specific proteins, including multiple CTAs, that are selectively deposited by the Sertoli cells of the adult mouse and human seminiferous tubules into testicular interstitial fluid (TIF) that is "outside" the blood-testis barrie

SUBMITTER: O'Donnell L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7898903 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature