Jun 07, 2021 06:00:00

It turns out that the brain and testicles are composed of very similar proteins

Sometimes he refers to a man who is too faithful to his sexual desire and says, 'I'm thinking about things in my crotch (lower body).' In fact, studies examining proteins in various organs of the human body have revealed that the proteins that make up the brain and testicles (testicles) are surprisingly similar.

Brain and testis: more alike than previously thought? | Open Biology

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsob.200322

Human brain and testis found to have the highest number of common proteins
https://phys.org/news/2021-06-human-brain-testis-highest-common.html

Our Brains Have More in Common With Testicles Than You Ever Wanted to Know
https://www.sciencealert.com/brains-and-testicles-have-more-in-common-with-one-another-than-you-ever-really-wanted-to-know

Genetic study finds the brain is most similar to --testicles?
https://www.studyfinds.org/brain-most-similar-to-testicles/

The human brain has a very complex role of controlling the body, receiving and processing signals from sensory organs, and circling various thoughts. On the other hand, the main function of the testis is the production of sperm and hormones, and many may think that they are organs that have little to do with each other.

However, in recent years, some evidence has been found showing a relationship between the brain and the testis, such as ' brain disease is associated with male erectile dysfunction ' and 'the more intelligent men are, the better the sperm quality '. Research results have been reported. So, interested in the relationship between the brain and the testes, a research team at the University of Aveiro and the University of Porto in Portugal investigated the proteins that make up various organs in the body.

The research team analyzed the proteins that make up 33 tissues, including the heart, skeletal muscle, intestines, stomach, liver, kidneys, lymph nodes, cervix, ovaries, placenta, prostate, and testes, and compared their similarities. Did. As a result, the research team says that the brain and testicles have the most common proteins compared to other human tissues.

According to the research team, of the 14,315 proteins that make up the brain and the 15,687 proteins that make up the testes, 13,442 were actually common to both.

In addition, it was found that the expression of genes that synthesize proteins is also the most common in the brain and testis among various organs.

Upon closer examination, many of the proteins common to the brain and testis were involved in tissue development and cell-cell communication. In this regard, the researchers argue that it makes sense that many proteins have something in common, as the brain and testicles have similar functions.

The first thing the research team points out is that the brain and testicles both consume a lot of energy. Because the brain needs energy to process thoughts and the testis to produce large amounts of sperm, there are cells that nourish and support nerve cells and germ cells.

And the second thing that the brain and testes have in common is that they 'use a common process called exocytosis to move substances made inside to the outside.' Exocytosis is a process in which the membrane of secretory vesicles that store intracellularly synthesized substances is fused with the cell membrane, and the synthesized substance is released to the outside. The brain releases the produced neurotransmitters between cells. It is said that the sperm cells produced in the testis use exocytosis to fertilize the egg in order to communicate with each other.

The third thing they have in common is that they both have similar defenses. The blood-brain barrier, which limits the exchange of substances between blood and tissue fluid, protects the brain from harmful substances. On the other hand, the testis also has a mechanism called the blood-testis barrier, which protects sperm cells from blood.

The researchers suspect that the two organs sharing many proteins is like convergent evolution. It is possible that the brain and testis had similar functions, resulting in similar proteins, just as different groups of animals acquired similar traits for similar purposes. The research team thinks.

Generally, only males have testes, but female brains also have common proteins with male testes.