Skip to main content

What is the function of the blood-testis barrier?


Both the brain and the testes have a blood - organ - barrier. Just as the blood-brain-barrier keeps toxins out of the brain, presumably the blood-testis-barrier keeps toxins from damaging the integrity of the genetic code used for reproduction. Also, when the primary spermatocyte undergoes meiosis, to form the spermatozoa, it becomes genetically different from the body’s normal cells, which could cause it to be attacked by the immune system. The blood-testis-barrier protects it from the immune system. It also prevents certain proteins specific for the function of the spermatozoa from entering the bloodstream, which might also set off an immune response.
Both the brain and the testes may act as “sanctuary sites” for certain types of cancer since many types of chemotherapy drugs cannot pass through the barrier. Occasionally, radiation therapy may be necessary to sterilize deposits of cancer cells “hiding out” in these organs.
Credits: Gary Larson 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Are the shapes of RBCs really important?  People often say it’s to maximize surface area to volume ratio and thus the efficiency of oxygen diffusion from the blood plasma to all the hemoglobin in the RBC. I used to write that myself. I don’t believe it anymore, on at least two grounds: (1)  The RBCs of birds have to be just as efficient as ours in transporting oxygen, if not more so because of the demands of flight. But bird RBCs are football-shaped with a big nucleus, so I don’t think RBC shape has anything to do with gas transport efficiency. Bird erythrocytes: (2)  The only places that our RBCs load or unload oxygen is in the blood capillaries of the lungs and systemic tissues, and in both of these places, our RBCs  don’t have  that discoidal, biconcave shape. To squeeze through the capillaries, they become rounded, teardrop-shaped, or even folded over like a soft deflated air pillow folded double. The biconcave shape exists only in the larger ve...
Post a Comment
Read more
KIDS AND PORNOGRAPHY - HOW TO STOP THEM Do you know what your teenager/younger one is doing on that data enabled phone or iPad??* Don't be caught unaware. Pornography is available with just one click. How about social media? Do you have any control over how much time they spend on it when they should be studying or sleeping? I am sure you worry about these things even though you realize that they need these devices as a means of communication and even learning. But as good parents, we must protect the minds of our teenagers and children. I thought it was a joke when my pastor's wife told me that there is a mobile application that I can download, just like I downloaded WhatsApp.  I did not believe it could actually protect my son until I tried it out myself. I have visited www.mindguard.com.ng and I have downloaded the parent app on my phone and the digital coach on my child's phone so that I can protect him from the dangers associated with the internet without...
Post a Comment
Read more
WHAT A GREAT STORY *This is a great story. Take a moment to read it; I Pray it will make your day* A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.. When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son. About a month later, just before Christmas, There was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.. He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly... He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm...
Post a Comment
Read more