Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah; Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Fertil Steril. 2020 Jun;113(6):1135-1139. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2020.04.024. Epub 2020 Apr 17.
To describe detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-coronavirus 2 (CoV-2) in seminal fluid of patients recovering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to describe the expression profile of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and Transmembrane Serine Protease 2 (TMPRSS2) within the testicle.
Observational, cross-sectional study.
Tertiary referral center.
PATIENT(S): Thirty-four adult Chinese males diagnosed with COVID-19 through confirmatory quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) from pharyngeal swab samples.
INTERVENTION(S): None.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Identification of SARS-CoV-2 on qRT-PCR of single ejaculated semen samples. Semen quality was not assessed. Expression patterns of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the human testis are explored through previously published single-cell transcriptome datasets.
RESULT(S): Six patients (19%) demonstrated scrotal discomfort suggestive of viral orchitis around the time of COVID-19 confirmation. Severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV-2 was not detected in semen after a median of 31 days (interquartile range, 29-36 days) from COVID-19 diagnosis. Single-cell transcriptome analysis demonstrates sparse expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2, with almost no overlapping gene expression.
CONCLUSION(S): Severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV-2 was not detected in the semen of patients recovering from COVID-19 1 month after COVID-19 diagnosis. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2-mediated viral entry of SARS-CoV-2 into target host cells is unlikely to occur within the human testicle based on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression. The long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 on male reproductive function remain unknown.
描述从新冠肺炎（COVID-19）康复患者的精液中检测到严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）的情况，并描述睾丸内血管紧张素转换酶 2（ACE2）和跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶 2（TMPRSS2）的表达谱。
观察性、横断面研究。
三级转诊中心。
34 名通过咽拭子样本确认定量逆转录-聚合酶链反应（qRT-PCR）确诊 COVID-19 的成年中国男性。
无。
通过对单个射出精液样本的 qRT-PCR 鉴定 SARS-CoV-2。未评估精液质量。通过已发表的单细胞转录组数据集探索 ACE2 和 TMPRSS2 在人睾丸中的表达模式。
在 COVID-19 确诊时，6 名患者（19%）出现阴囊不适，提示病毒性睾丸炎。从 COVID-19 诊断到中位数为 31 天（四分位距，29-36 天）后，精液中未检测到严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒。单细胞转录组分析表明 ACE2 和 TMPRSS2 的表达稀疏，几乎没有重叠的基因表达。
在 COVID-19 诊断后 1 个月，从 COVID-19 康复患者的精液中未检测到 SARS-CoV-2。基于 ACE2 和 TMPRSS2 的表达，SARS-CoV-2 通过 ACE2 介导进入靶宿主细胞的病毒进入不太可能发生在人睾丸内。SARS-CoV-2 对男性生殖功能的长期影响仍不清楚。
