Fig. 1

Poly I:C triggered the expression of cytokines. a Normal testicle from a sham-infected male. The interstitium contain Leydig (interstitial) cells and blood vessels. Testis from Poly I:C treatment showed mild orchitis. Mild neutrophilic infiltration (arrow) is observed in the interstitium. b and c Pentobarbital sodium (50 mg/kg) was used to anesthetize mice. Testes were revealed via operation. Testes in the experimental group were injected with 0.3 μg of poly I:C and those from the control group were injected with PBS. At various time points, testes were homogenized and evaluated for the expression of IL-6, MCP-1, IFN-β, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IFN-β with qRT-PCR. d Sertoli cells, e Leydig cells, and f male germ cells were treated for 6 h with poly I:C or PBS. Total RNAs were isolated from cells and the mRNA levels of six cytokines were evaluated with qRT-PCR after normalization to GAPDH levels. Cells that did not receive poly I:C injection served as controls (Ctrl). Results are expressed as means ± SEM (n = 3 replicates each experiment). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001