SARS-CoV-2 infection and male fertility problems

Ika Inda Bani (Magister of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia)
Zulkarnain Zulkarnain (Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia)
Gholib Gholib (Physiology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia)
Dedy Syahrizal (Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia)
Fauzul Husna (Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia)
Winda Yulia (Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia)
Mulkan Azhari (Department of Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia)

Trends in Infection and Global Health
Vol 2, No 2 (2022): December 2022

In 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has killed more than 6.6 millions of people around the world as of end of 2022. The long-term impact of COVID-19 is persisted, including its impact on male reproduction. SARS-CoV-2 enters into host cells using the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) receptors. Both of these receptors are expressed more in men, and therefore men are more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 potentially cause infertility by damaging testicular tissues and interfering with the process of spermatogenesis. A decrease in serum levels of testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) as well as a decrease in sperm quality in men with COVID-19 compared to healthy men of the same age has been reported in several studies. Utilizing existing research data, this study aims to explore in detail of how SARS-CoV-2 tends to affect male fertility.