SynthesisAndrologia2020
Could SARS-CoV-2 affect male fertility?
Synthesis in Andrologia, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.
- Absence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the semen of men recovering from COVID-19 infection: An exploratory study and review of literature.Andrologia · 2021Pooled it
- Complication and Sequelae of COVID-19: What Should We Pay Attention to in the Post-Epidemic Era.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Pooled it
- Could SARS-CoV-2 affect male fertility?Andrologia · 2020Pooled it
- Update on andrological effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19: An overview review.Andrology · 2025Review
- Review
- The Effect of SARS-Cov2 Infection on The Spermogram: A Prospective Study.International journal of fertility & sterility · 2023Article
- Review
- COVID-19 vaccination does not affect male sexual functions.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2023Article
- Molecular determinants associated with temporal succession of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Uttar Pradesh, India.Frontiers in microbiology · 2023Article
- Impact of COVID-19 convalescence on pregnancy outcomes in patients undergoing IVF/ICSI during fresh ART cycles: a retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Article
- Knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 Epitopes and Population HLA Types Is Important in the Design of COVID-19 Vaccines.Vaccines · 2022Review
- Corona and Reproduction, or Why the Corona Vaccination Does Not Result in Infertility.Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde · 2022Article
- The Epidemic of COVID-19-Related Erectile Dysfunction: A Scoping Review and Health Care Perspective.Sexual medicine reviews · 2022Article
- ACE2 Receptor and Its Isoform Short-ACE2 Are Expressed on Human Spermatozoa.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- The impact of COVID-19 on the male genital tract: a qualitative literature review of sexual transmission and fertility implications.Clinical and experimental reproductive medicine · 2022Article
- Oncofertility and COVID-19: At the Crossroads between Two Time-Sensitive Fields.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Pathophysiological and molecular considerations of viral and bacterial infections during maternal-fetal and -neonatal interactions of SARS-CoV-2, Zika, and Mycoplasma infectious diseases.Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular basis of disease · 2022Article
- COVID-19 disrupts the blood-testis barrier through the induction of inflammatory cytokines and disruption of junctional proteins.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2021Article
- Testicular Atrophy and Hypothalamic Pathology in COVID-19: Possibility of the Incidence of Male Infertility and HPG Axis Abnormalities.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2021Review
- Relationship between betacoronaviruses and the endocrine system: a new key to understand the COVID-19 pandemic-A comprehensive review.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We performed this systematic review to evaluate the possibility of an impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on male fertility. SARS-CoV-2 enters the cells with the help of ACE2; therefore, testicular expression of ACE2 was analysed from transcriptome sequencing studies and our unpublished data. Literature suggested that SARS-CoV-1 (2002-2004 SARS) had a significant adverse impact on testicular architecture, suggesting a high possibility of the impact of SARS-CoV-2 as well. Out of two studies on semen samples from COVID-19 affected patients, one reported the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the semen samples while the other denied it, raising conflict about its presence in the semen samples and the possibility of sexual transmission. Our transcriptome sequencing studies on rat testicular germ cells showed ACE expression in rat testicular germ cells. We also found ACE2 expression in transcriptome sequencing data for human spermatozoa, corroborating its presence in the testicular germ cells. Transcriptome sequencing data from literature search revealed ACE2 expression in the germ, Sertoli and Leydig cells. The presence of ACE2 on almost all testicular cells and the report of a significant impact of previous SARS coronavirus on testes suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is highly likely to affect testicular tissue, semen parameters and male fertility.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.