Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch have discovered SARS-CoV-2 in the testes of infected hamsters, findings which may explain certain COVID symptoms reported in men.
Clinicians are finding that COVID affects more than just the lungs; some patients have reported testicular pain and some reports have shown decreases in testosterone. Autopsies have also shown evidence of significant disruption of the testes at the cellular level, severe in some cases, and presence of immune cells. Since SARS-CoV-2 has an affinity for ACE-2 receptors, and ACE-2 receptor expression is high in the testes, this could explain why this tissue becomes an infection target for COVID.
“Given the magnitude of the COVID pandemic, it is critical to investigate how this disease can impact the testes, and the potential consequences for disease severity, reproductive health and sexual transmission,” said Dr Rafael Kroon Campos, the study’s lead author and postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr Shannan Rossi at UTMB.
For a number of years, the Rossi lab had been studying Zika virus infection in the testes and wondered if SARS-CoV-2 could cause a similar disease. Hamsters are common models for COVID since they develop similar signs of disease to humans. Virus was detected in the testes of all infected hamsters during the first week but tapered off. The authors think this may represent what could occur in men with mild to moderate COVID disease.
“These findings are the first step in understanding how COVID impacts the male genital tract and potentially men’s reproductive health,” said Rossi, an associate professor in the Departments of Pathology and Microbiology & Immunology. “We have much more to do before we have the full picture. Moving forward, we will investigate ways to blunt this impact, including using antivirals, antibody therapies and vaccines.”
Future research could also include conditions associated with severe COVID, such as pre-existing conditions like obesity and diabetes and SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, the study authors said.
