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Review
. 2021 Jun;11(6):200322.
doi: 10.1098/rsob.200322. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

Brain and testis: more alike than previously thought?

Bárbara Matos  1 , Stephen J Publicover  2 , Luis Filipe C Castro  3   4 , Pedro J Esteves  4   5 , Margarida Fardilha  1
Affiliations
Review

Brain and testis: more alike than previously thought?

Bárbara Matos et al. Open Biol. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Several strands of evidence indicate the presence of marked similarities between human brain and testis. Understanding these similarities and their implications has become a topic of interest among the scientific community. Indeed, an association of intelligence with some semen quality parameters has been reported and a relation between dysfunctions of the human brain and testis has also been evident. Numerous common molecular features are evident when these tissues are compared, which is reflected in the huge number of common proteins. At the functional level, human neurons and sperm share a number of characteristics, including the importance of the exocytotic process and the presence of similar receptors and signalling pathways. The common proteins are mainly involved in exocytosis, tissue development and neuron/brain-associated biological processes. With this analysis, we conclude that human brain and testis share several biochemical characteristics which, in addition to their involvement in the speciation process, could, at least in part, be responsible for the expression of a huge number of common proteins. Nonetheless, this is an underexplored topic, and the connection between these tissues needs to be clarified, which could help to understand the dysfunctions affecting brain and testis, as well as to develop improved therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: brain; molecular; neuron; sperm; testis.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Summary of the cellular organization of human brain and testis.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Veen diagram demonstrating the overlap between the human brain and testis proteome (based on the Jveen tool). The data of human brain and testis proteome were collected on 20 August 2019.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Venn diagram demonstrating the overlap between the neuron and sperm proteome (based on the Jveen tool).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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