{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T04:17:21Z","timestamp":1779164241634,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,3]],"date-time":"2025-05-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1746230400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["The FEBS Journal"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    <jats:italic>Toxoplasma gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that can infect virtually any nucleated cell within human and other endoderm animal tissue, including male reproductive organs. Herein, we investigate the capacity of\n                    <jats:italic>T.\u2009gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    tachyzoites to infect and proliferate within the testes and epididymis and examine the resulting impact on human spermatozoa structure and functionality. We confirmed that\n                    <jats:italic>T.\u2009gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    tachyzoites colonise and proliferate within the testes and epididymis, altering the tissue structural homeostasis, and causing immune cell infiltration and cellular damage. In addition to demonstrating that\n                    <jats:italic>T.\u2009gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    remains infective within the testes and epididymis,\n                    <jats:italic>in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n                    experiments demonstrated a direct interaction between\n                    <jats:italic>T.\u2009gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    tachyzoites and human spermatozoa. This resulted in a significant proportion of headless spermatozoa. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed structural defects in spermatozoa, such as twisted tails and plasma membrane disruptions. Moreover,\n                    <jats:italic>T.\u2009gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    tachyzoites triggered the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in spermatozoa without modulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations, and triggered cell death, pointing at mitochondrial dysfunction as a potential mechanism mediating spermatozoan damage. Our findings suggest that\n                    <jats:italic>T.\u2009gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    infection can have profound implications for male fertility by directly damaging spermatozoa and altering testicular and epididymal structures. The study underscores the need for further research to elucidate the long\u2010term impact of\n                    <jats:italic>T.\u2009gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    on male reproductive health, particularly in the context of iatrogenic infertility. Given the widespread seroprevalence of\n                    <jats:italic>T.\u2009gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    in the human population, our research emphasises the importance of considering parasitic infections in diagnosing and managing male infertility in the field of andrology.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/febs.70097","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,3]],"date-time":"2025-05-03T14:09:04Z","timestamp":1746281344000},"page":"4720-4736","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Adverse impact of acute\n                    <i>Toxoplasma gondii<\/i>\n                    infection on human spermatozoa"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"292","author":[{"given":"Lisbeth","family":"Rojas\u2010Bar\u00f3n","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Parasitology Justus Liebig University Giessen  Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Leandro","family":"Tana\u2010Hernandez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Apicomplexan Biology Institut Pasteur de Montevideo  Uruguay"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mireille H.","family":"Nguele Ampama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Parasitology Justus Liebig University Giessen  Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ra\u00fal","family":"Sanch\u00e9z","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of excellence in Translational Medicine\u2014Scientific and Technological Bioresource Nucleus (CEMT\u2014BIOREN), Faculty of Medicine Universidad de la Frontera  Temuco Chile"},{"name":"Department of Preclinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Universidad de la Frontera  Temuco Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ulrich","family":"G\u00e4rtner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology Justus Liebig University Giessen  Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Florian M. E.","family":"Wagenlehner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Urology, Pediatric Urology and Andrology Justus Liebig University Giessen  Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Christian","family":"Preu\u00dfer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"EV \u2013 Core Facility, Institute for Tumor Immunology, Center for Tumor Biology and Immunology (ZTI) Philipps University Marburg  Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elke","family":"Pogge von Strandmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"EV \u2013 Core Facility, Institute for Tumor Immunology, Center for Tumor Biology and Immunology (ZTI) Philipps University Marburg  Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Carlos","family":"Hermosilla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Parasitology Justus Liebig University Giessen  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