Differential Susceptibility to Experimental Autoimmune Orchitis in BALB/c Substrains

Abstract

Experimental allergic orchitis (EAO) is an organ specific autoimmune disease which can be readily induced in a susceptible mouse strain by a single injection of mouse testicular homogenate (MTH) emulsified in complete Freund’s adjuvant with either Bordetella pertussis organisms (Pokorna et al 1963; Bohme 1965; Hargis et al 1968; Bernard et al 1978; Sato et al 1981) or an extract enriched in pertussigen prepared from the spent media of B. pertussis cultures (Kohno et al 1983). Murine EAO is manifest as inflammation in the testis (orchitis), epididymitis, and vasitis (Kohno et al 1983). The histopathologic evidence of autoimmune orchitis first appears 10–15 days after immunization with maximal disease involvement occurring by day 20–25. Testicular lesions are characterized by varying degrees of interstitial, peritubular, and intratubular infiltration of eosinophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and macrophages. In severe disease, global necrosis may be seen. In the seminiferous tubules desquamation of germ cells leading to aspermatogenesis occurs concomitantly with the development of autoimmune orchitis.