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CX3CR1 deficiency leads to impairment of immune surveillance in the epididymis

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Abstract

Mononuclear phagocytes (MPs) play an active role in the immunological homeostasis of the urogenital tract. In the epididymis, a finely tuned balance between tolerance to antigenic sperm and immune activation is required to maintain epididymal function while protecting sperm against pathogens and stressors. We previously characterized a subset of resident MPs that express the CX3CR1 receptor, emphasizing their role in antigen sampling and processing during sperm maturation and storage in the murine epididymis. Bacteria-associated epididymitis is the most common cause of intrascrotal inflammation and frequently leads to reproductive complications. Here, we examined whether the lack of functional CX3CR1 in homozygous mice (CX3CR1EGFP/EGFP, KO) alters the ability of MPs to initiate immune responses during epididymitis induced by LPS intravasal–epididymal injection. Confocal microscopy revealed that CX3CR1-deficient MPs located in the initial segments of the epididymis displayed fewer luminal-reaching membrane projections and impaired antigen capture activity. Moreover, flow cytometry showed a reduction of epididymal KO MPs with a monocytic phenotype under physiological conditions. In contrast, flow cytometry revealed an increase in the abundance of MPs with a monocytic signature in the distal epididymal segments after an LPS challenge. This was accompanied by the accumulation of CD103+ cells in the interstitium, and the prevention or attenuation of epithelial damage in the KO epididymis during epididymitis. Additionally, CX3CR1 deletion induced downregulation of Gja1 (connexin 43) expression in KO MPs. Together, our study provides evidence that MPs are gatekeepers of the immunological blood-epididymis barrier and reveal the role of the CX3CR1 receptor in epididymal mucosal homeostasis by inducing MP luminal protrusions and by regulating the monocyte population in the epididymis at steady state as well as upon infection. We also uncover the interaction between MPs and CD103+ dendritic cells, presumably through connexin 43, that enhance immune responses during epididymitis. Our study may lead to new diagnostics and therapies for male infertility and epididymitis by identifying immune mechanisms in the epididymis.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Microscopy Core of the Program in Membrane Biology (PMB) (MGH, Boston, MA) and the MGB Molecular Imaging Core (MGH, Charlestown, MA), in particular to Anil V. Nair and Mohammed Sami Saleh Mahamdeh, respectively, for their expertise and support in confocal microscopy. We also thank the HSCI-CRM Flow Cytometry Facility (MGH, Boston, MA), in particular Maris Handley, Daire D. Daly, and Jamie Kauffman for their guidance and assistance in flow cytometry analysis, and Yoshiko Iwamoto (Center for Systems Biology, Department of Radiology, MGH and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA) for her help in performing the Hematoxylin and Eosin staining. We acknowledge Dr. Claudio Attardo-Parrinello for his assistance in performing one LPS experiment and Dr. Raul German Spallanzani for his assistance in the data interpretation.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant HD104672-01 to M.A.B., grants HD040793, HD069623 to S.B.), the Lalor Foundation (to F.B.), and the IBSA Foundation for Scientific Research (to F.B.) The Microscopy Core facility of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Program in Membrane Biology receives support from the Boston Area Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center (DK57521) and the Center for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (DK43351). The Zeiss LSM 800 microscope was acquired using an NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant S10-OD-021577–01. M.A.B is the recipient of the 2021 MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholar Research Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Membrane Biology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA

    F. Barrachina, K. Ottino, L. J. Tu, D. Brown & M. A. Battistone

  2. Nephrology Division, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA

    F. Barrachina, K. Ottino, L. J. Tu, R. J. Soberman, D. Brown & M. A. Battistone

  3. Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec-Research Center, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproduction, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada

    S. Breton

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  1. F. Barrachina
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Contributions

FB and MAB were involved in the study design and conceptualization. FB, KO, LJT, and MAB performed the experiments and data analysis. FB, RJS, DB, SB, and MAB were involved in data interpretation. FB and MAB wrote the original manuscript. All authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript, made critical comments, and approved the final version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. A. Battistone.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethics approval

All animal procedures were approved by the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Subcommittee on Research Animal Care and were performed following the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Academies Press, 2011; protocol 2003N000216).

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Barrachina, F., Ottino, K., Tu, L.J. et al. CX3CR1 deficiency leads to impairment of immune surveillance in the epididymis. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 80, 15 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-022-04664-w

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