The inflamed cauda epididymidis: a hub for ectopic lymphoid organ genesis

Infection and inflammation of the male reproductive tract are major factors leading to infertility. Insults targeting the epididymis are of concern as they can impair fertility. A considerable number of patients with epididymitis, even after antibiotic treatment, exhibit the presence of an epididymal infiltrate specifically in the cauda epididymidis and even suffer from infertility. For this reason, this study focused on investigating the cauda epididymidis at later time points from the infection in a well-established model of acute bacterial epididymitis as well as in an autoimmune model – experimental autoimmune epididymo-orchitis. We show that multiple elements associated with tertiary lymphoid organs formation, organization and maintenance are present in UPEC-infected as well as EAEO epididymidis compared to control cauda epididymidis.