Abstract
Autoimmunity Because of mutations in the AIRE gene, patients with autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS1) suffer dysfunction in multiple endocrine glands and are often infertile. Female infertility can be explained by autoimmune ovarian failure, but the causes of male infertility are unclear. Now Landegren et al. report that the prostatic secretory molecule tranglutaminase 4 (TGM4) is a male-specific autoantigen in APS1 patients that could contribute to subfertility. Autoantibodies to TGM4 appeared in APS1 patients beginning at puberty, and similar antibodies lead to destructive prostatitis in AIRE -deficient mice. Together, these data may explain the infertility observed in male APS1 patients. Sci. Transl. Med. 7 , 292ra101 (2015).
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