Transmission electron microscopy reveals the presence of SARS ‐CoV‐2 in human spermatozoa associated with an ETosis‐like response
Discussion and conclusionAlthough severe acute syndrome coronavirus 2 was not present in the infected men's semen, it was intracellularly present in the spermatozoa till 3 months after hospital discharge. The Electron microscopy (EM) findings also suggest that spermatozoa produce nuclear DNA-based extracellular traps, probably in a cell-free DNA-dependent manner, similar to those previously described in the systemic inflammatory response to COVID-19. In moderate-to-severe cases, the blood –testes barrier grants little defence against different pathogenic viruses, including the severe acute syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus could also use the epididymis as a post-testicular route to bind and fuse to the mature spermatozoon and possibly accomplish the reverse transcription of the sin gle-stranded viral RNA into proviral DNA. These mechanisms can elicit extracellular cell-free DNA formation. The potential implications of our findings for assisted conception must be addressed, and the evolutionary history of DNA-based extracellular traps as preserved ammunition in animals’ innat e defence might improve our understanding of the severe acute syndrome coronavirus 2 pathophysiology in the testis and spermatozoa.
Source: Andrology - Category: Urology & Nephrology Authors: Jorge Hallak,
Elia G. Caldini,
Thiago A. Teixeira,
Maria Cassia Mendes Correa,
Amaro N. Duarte ‐Neto,
Fabiola Zambrano,
Anja Taubert,
Carlos Hermosilla,
Joël R. Drevet,
Marisa Dolhnikoff,
Raul Sanchez,
Paulo H. N. Saldiva Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research