Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42104222›Full record

ArticleBMC immunology2026

Treponema pallidum induces pathological injury of the rabbit testis and sperm through NLRP3 inflammasome activation-mediated pyroptosis.

Tong Zheng, Meiping Ye, Yilan Yang, Linxin Yao, Danyang Zou, Chunjie Liao, Xin Feng, Tingli Tian, Zhuojun Tang, Pingyu Zhou

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Article in BMC immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Tong ZhengSTD Institute, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Meiping YeDepartment of Dermatology, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Yilan YangSTD Institute, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Linxin YaoSTD Institute, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Danyang ZouSTD Institute, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Chunjie LiaoSTD Institute, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Xin FengSTD Institute, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Tingli TianSTD Institute, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Zhuojun TangDepartment of Dermatology, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Pingyu ZhouSTD Institute, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China. zpyls@yahoo.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTreponema pallidum (T. pallidum) can invade various organs and tissues. However, there have been few studies on the pathological injury of T. pallidum to the testis and sperm. The NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, upon activation, leads to pyroptosis-a programmed, pro-inflammatory cell death process, and promotes inflammatory responses. Previous investigations have found that the NLRP3 inflammasome is elevated in the testis tissues of rabbits infected with T. pallidum. This study aimed to investigate whether T. pallidum induced pathological injury of the rabbit testis and sperm through NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis.

methodsWhile rabbits in the T. pallidum group received an intratesticular injection of 1 mL of a bacterial suspension containing 10⁷/mL treponemes, those in the sham group were administered an equal volume of normal saline to serve as the injection procedure control. 14 days later, testis tissues were harvested for IHC and H&E staining, and analysis of qPCR. In vitro, GC-2spd cells were stimulated by T. pallidum (MOI = 20). After administering MCC950, the expression levels of the inflammasome NLRP3 and downstream pyroptosis-related molecules were subsequently detected.

resultsT. pallidum caused obvious pathological damage to the rabbit testis and sperm reduction. Meanwhile, the gene expression levels of NLRP3, ASC, GSDMD, Caspase-1, IL-Iβ, and IL-18 in the T. pallidum group were higher than those of the sham group. Additionally, T. pallidum induced cell injury and pyroptosis in GC-2spd cells, which was improved by the NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor MCC950.

conclusionsOur findings validated that T. pallidum induced pathological damage to the testis and sperm reduction via NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis. By specifically inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome, MCC950 has the potential to ameliorate sperm cell damage under in vitro conditions via the blockade of pyroptotic cell death.

Indexed as

InflammasomesNLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 ProteinPyroptosisSpermatozoaSyphilisTestisTreponema pallidumAnimalsCell LineMaleRabbitsInflammasomesNLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 ProteinNLRP3 inflammasomePyroptosisSpermTestisTreponema pallidum

Identifiers

PMID42104222
PMCPMC13366752

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.