Whole Exome Sequencing Identifies a Rare Mutation in NACAD as a Possible Cause of COVID Orchitis in Brothers

COVID orchitis (testicular pain) is reported in 10-15% of men with long COVID. We identified two siblings with COVID orchitis and hypothesized that genetic mutations are associated with susceptibility. Blood samples from five COVID-19 (+) men, three of whom had orchitis were evaluated by whole-exome-sequencing. A rare deletion on chromosome 7 was found in NACAD among the three men with orchitis. Interestingly, circulating ACE2 levels was decreased in men with COVID orchitis. This pilot study generated the hypothesis that men who develop COVID orchitis could have underlying genetic variants and altered levels in circulating ACE2 that may increase their risk.

Source: Urology - October 19, 2021 Category: Urology & Nephrology Authors: Rohit Reddy, Iakov Efimenko, Willy Chertman, Taylor Kohn, Parris Diaz, Deepa Seetharam, Kajal Khodamoradi, Eliyahu Kresch, Ranjith Ramasamy Source Type: research