ArticleThe world journal of men's health2021
Histopathology and Ultrastructural Findings of Fatal COVID-19 Infections on Testis.
Article in The world journal of men's health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04643522 (Does COVID-19 Worsen the Semen Parameters? Early Results of a Tertiary Health Center), which is not on this map. Cited by 73 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Does COVID-19 Worsen the Semen Parameters? Early Results of a Tertiary Health Center
Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 132 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Andrological effects of SARS-Cov-2 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2022Pooled it
- 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
- Effect of COVID-19 on Male Reproductive System - A Systematic Review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Pooled it
- Urological complications of COVID-19: a systematic review.International braz j urol : official journal of the Brazilian Society of UrologyPooled it
- Unfolding the Semen Microbiota: Implications for Male Infertility.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on sperm telomere length.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2025Article
- Repercussion of SARS-CoV-2 on the Sexual Function in Males: An Updated Review.Infectious disorders drug targets · 2025Review
- The Role of Macrophages in Implementing the Effects of Secretome of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in the Spermatogonial Stem Cell Niche.Sovremennye tekhnologii v meditsine · 2025Article
- SARS-CoV-2 exploits steroidogenic machinery, triggers lipid metabolism for viral replication and induces immune response in Leydig cells of K18-hACE2 mice.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Sperm quality and sexual function after the first COVID-19 infection during the omicron surge: an observational study in southwest China.Translational andrology and urology · 2024Article
- COVID-19 and Prostatitis: A Review of Current Evidence.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Mapping the vast landscape of multisystem complications of COVID-19: Bibliometric analysis.Heliyon · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and semen quality: a study based on sperm donor candidate data in southwest China.Translational andrology and urology · 2024Article
- Management of post-mortem examination in SARS-CoV-19 infections.Pathologica · 2023Review
- Evaluation of semen DNA integrity and related parameters with COVID-19 infection: a prospective cohort study.Virology journal · 2023Article
- The Potential of Probiotics as Ingestible Adjuvants and Immune Modulators for Antiviral Immunity and Management of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- SARS-CoV-2 infection and its effects on the endocrine system.Best practice & research. Clinical endocrinology & metabolism · 2023Review
- Male Reproductive Tract Involvement and Sperm Parameters in SARS-CoV-2 Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The world journal of men's health · 2023Article
- Rescuing fertility during COVID-19 infection: exploring potential pharmacological and natural therapeutic approaches for comorbidity, by focusing on NLRP3 inflammasome mechanism.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2023Review
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTo evaluate the presence and analyze the pathological changes within the testes of patients who died or recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) complications. MATERIALS AND
methodsTestis tissue was collected from autopsies of COVID-19 positive (n=6) and negative men (n=3). Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and subjected to immunofluorescence for angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) expression. Fluorescent-labeled tissue slides were imaged on a quantitative pathology scope with various zoom levels allowing for qualitative and quantitative interpretation. Tissue from four COVID-19 positive autopsy cases and a live seroconverted patient was imaged with transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
resultsH&E histomorphology showed three of the six COVID-19 biopsies had normal spermatogenesis while the remaining three had impaired spermatogenesis. TEM showed the COVID-19 virus in testis tissue of one COVID-19 positive autopsy case and the live biopsy, H&E stain on the same autopsy case demonstrated interstitial macrophage and leukocyte infiltration. Immunofluorescent stained slides from six COVID-19 positive men demonstrated a direct association between increased quantitative ACE-2 levels and impairment of spermatogenesis.
conclusionsThe novel COVID-19 has an affinity for ACE-2 receptors. Since ACE-2 receptor expression is high in the testes, we hypothesized that COVID-19 is prevalent in testes tissue of infected patients. This study suggests the male reproductive tract, specifically the testes, may be targets of COVID-19 infection. We found an inverse association between ACE-2 receptor levels and spermatogenesis, suggesting a possible mechanism of how COVID-19 can cause infertility.
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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.