Search

At the start of the COVID-pandemic in March 2020, the Institutes of Veterinary Anatomy of the five German educational institutions were confronted with the challenge of digitalising all lectures for the second and fourth semesters of veterinary students. After an online kick-off event and a preliminary status quo meeting, available digital teaching material was exchanged for students to stream from learning platforms. Lectures were either synchronized or made available as audio recordings and connotated slides on the learning platforms. Fortunately, digital microscopic slides had already been in use, which made it easy for students to access them. Dissection exercises mostly consisted of self-study, using instructive videos and interactive exercises. In the second half of the semester, four of the educational institutions were able to offer a restricted number of in-person gross anatomy classes under reinforced conditions. Success monitoring took place online through different formats, and partially on a voluntary basis, via the learning platforms. Although the past two semesters had to almost exclusively take place online due to the unprecedented circumstances, and joint efforts of the five veterinary institutions, there is a general consensus that the practical education in anatomy, histology and embryology is essential to veterinary students. In fact, it is the only way they can obtain the necessary skills to successfully complete the rest of their degree.

The testis is a reservoir for viruses that can cause persistent infection and adversely affect male reproductive health, an observation commonly attributed to deficiencies in inducible antiviral defence mechanisms. In this study, we demonstrate that interferon-epsilon (IFNε), a type I interferon initially discovered in female reproductive epithelia, is constitutively expressed by meiotic and post-meiotic spermatogenic cells, Leydig cells and macrophages in mouse testes. A similar distribution pattern was observed in human testes. Mice lacking IFNɛ were more susceptible to Zika virus-induced inflammation and damage of the testis and epididymis compared to wild-type mice. Exogenous IFNε treatment reduced the viral infection burden in cultured human testicular cells by inducing interferon-stimulated gene expression, and reducing inflammatory gene expression and cell damage. Treatment was more effective when administered prior to infection. These data indicate a critical role for constitutively-expressed IFNɛ in limiting viral infection and inflammatory damage in the male reproductive tract. Author summary: Many clinically significant viruses can infect the testis, affecting male fertility, and the health of the partners and children of infected men. Crucially, many viruses are transmitted via semen, because infections can elude the immune system by hiding in the testis, presumably because of its unique "immunologically privileged" environment. However, our understanding of anti-viral defences in the testis is lacking. We found that under normal physiological conditions, Interferon epsilon (IFNε), a novel antiviral molecule initially identified in the female reproductive tract, is expressed in testicular immune cells, but more significantly in cells that develop into sperm in both mice and humans. In this paper, we show that IFNε plays a crucial role in limiting Zika virus induced damage to the male reproductive system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Sperm morphology and motility are major contributors to male‐factor infertility, with many genes predicted to be involved. This study aimed to elucidate differentially expressed transcripts in human testis tissues of normal and abnormal spermatogenesis that could reveal new genes that may regulate sperm morphology and function. Methods: Human testis biopsies were collected from men with well‐characterized phenotypes of normal spermatogenesis, spermatid arrest, and Sertoli cell‐only phenotype, and transcriptional differences were quantified by RNA‐sequencing (RNA‐Seq). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were filtered based on predominant expression in spermatids and gene functional annotations relevant to sperm morphology and motility. Selected 10 DEGs were validated by qRT‐PCR and the localization of two proteins was determined in testis biopsies. Results: The analysis revealed 6 genes (SPATA31E1, TEKT3, SLC9C1, PDE4A, CFAP47, and TNC) that are excellent candidates for novel genes enriched in developing human sperm. The immunohistochemical localization of two proteins, ORAI1 and SPATA31E1, in testis biopsies, verified that both are expressed in developing human germ cells, with SPATA31E1 enriched in late spermatocytes and spermatids. Conclusion: This study identified human germ cell‐enriched genes that could play functional roles in spermiogenesis and could thus be important in the development of morphologically normal, motile sperm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]