Sperm protection in the male reproductive tract by Toll‐like receptors

Summary Sperm function can be affected by infection. Our understanding of innate immune system molecular mechanisms has been expanded, by the discovery of ‘Toll‐like receptors’ ( TLRs ). It seems that these receptors could play a critical role in the protection of spermatozoa. This study seeks to examine the presence and distribution of TLR s in different parts of the human male reproductive tract and spermatozoa. So, TLR gene expression was examined by RT ‐ PCR . Quantitative real‐time PCR (Q‐ PCR ) analysis used to compare the expression of TLR s in all sections of the male reproductive tract and TLR s 2, 3 and 4 in testicular sperm extraction ( TESE ) samples, which contained spermatozoa ( TESE +) and those that did not ( TESE −). Results showed that all TLR genes were expressed in different parts of the human male reproductive tract and spermatozoa. Moreover, Q‐ PCR indicated that the relative expression of TLR s did not significantly change in different parts of the male reproductive tract but this technique has shown only relative TLR 2 expression in TESE − is lower than TESE + samples. It could be concluded that TLR s may provide a broad spectrum of protection from infection in the male reproductive tract. Furthermore, TLR s may influence on the developmental process during spermatogenesis.