ReviewFrontiers in physiology2020
Coronavirus Disease-19 Infection: Implications on Male Fertility and Reproduction.
Review in Frontiers in physiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 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
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Effect of COVID-19 on Male Sex Hormones: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Study.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2024Pooled it
- The effect of COVID-19 vaccines on sperm parameters: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Asian journal of andrology · 2023Pooled it
- Ultrastructural Features, Immune Response, and Junctional Proteins in the Seminiferous Epithelium of SARS-CoV-2-Infected Mice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the male reproductive tract: insights from semen analysis and cryopreservation.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 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
- Repercussion of SARS-CoV-2 on the Sexual Function in Males: An Updated Review.Infectious disorders drug targets · 2025Review
- Comprehensive evaluation of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on sperm parameters and sex hormones.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 and male infertility: from short- to long-term impacts.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2023Review
- COVID-19 and Male Infertility: Is There a Role for Antioxidants?Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Review
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on semen quality of uninfected men.Basic and clinical andrology · 2023Article
- The relationship between staying at home during the pandemic and the number of conceptions: A national panel data analysis.PloS one · 2023Article
- mRNA and Viral Vector COVID-19 Vaccines Do Not Affect Male Fertility: A Prospective Study.The world journal of men's health · 2022Article
- Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of In Vivo and In Vitro SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Lesson from Human Sperm.Cells · 2022Article
- The impact of COVID-19 vaccine on sperm quality.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 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
- Effects of acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection on male hormone profile,F&S science · 2022Article
- Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on male reproductive health.BJU international · 2022Review
- Implications of testicular ACE2 and the renin-angiotensin system for SARS-CoV-2 on testis function.Nature reviews. Urology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to several concerns on male fertility. Nowadays, there are numerous unanswered questions, for example: is the virus present or not in the seminal fluid of infected subjects? Could the seminal fluid represent a way of sexual transmission for the virus? Why do men appear to be more susceptible than women? Several studies have been carried out to ascertain the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the seminal fluid, with contrasting results; the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) in the testes and in the male genital tract led to speculation about the possible presence of the virus in the seminal fluid. However, it was found that ACE2 and TMPRSS2, used by the virus to enter host cells, are expressed differently in certain testicle cells (stem germ cells, Leydig and Sertoli cells), yet the testicle cells in which ACE2 and TMPRSS2 molecules are simultaneously expressed are rare. This fact would suggest that the virus is not able to enter testicular cells, that it is not present in the seminal fluid and that it cannot infect male germ cells. However, the direct influence of SARS-CoV-2 on the testes is still to be evaluated, and recent results are very controversial. SARS-CoV-2 could enter the testicle using alternative paths and lead to alterations in testicular functionality. Another plausible consideration is that the COVID-19 disease could also indirectly cause alterations to testicular activity, since the fever and the cytokinic storm generated by the immune system can lead to damage of the testicular activity, consequently compromising male fertility. Although the literature provides controversial evidence, the purpose of this review is to lend a general overview about the state of the art. Despite the lack of studies, it would represent a starting point for further investigation about the effect of this coronavirus on male fertility.
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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.