Absence of SARS-CoV-2 in semen of a COVID-19 patient cohort
Absence of SARS-CoV-2 in semen of a COVID-19 patient cohort
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DOI：
10.1111/andr.12848
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发表时间：
2020-09-15
期刊：
影响因子：
4.5
通讯作者：
Yuan, Mingzhen
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Guo, Liqiang;Zhao, Shengtian;Yuan, Mingzhen
背景自2019年12月首次发现SARS-CoV-2感染以来，新型冠状病毒引起的肺炎COVID-19迅速蔓延并引发全球大流行。最近的生物信息学证据表明，SARS-CoV-2的主要细胞进入靶血管紧张素转换酶2主要富集在精原细胞，Leydig和Sertoli细胞，这表明SARS-CoV-2感染的男性生殖系统的潜在脆弱性。目的检测男性患者急性期和恢复期精浆中SARS-CoV-2 RNA的表达，并分析其精液特征。方法2020年2月26日至4月2日，招募了23名男性COVID-19患者。详细记录所有患者的临床特征、实验室检查和胸部CT扫描结果。我们还使用批准的方法研究了这些患者在SARS-CoV-2感染的急性期和恢复期的精液特征和精液中的病毒RNA载量。结果23例患者年龄20-62岁。所有患者的精液标本SARS-CoV-2 RNA检测均为阴性。其中，11名患者的病毒已被清除，因为他们的检测呈阴性。其余12名患者在精液样本中检测SARS-CoV-2 RNA呈阴性，但在痰液和粪便样本中呈阳性。从诊断到提供精液样本的中位间隔时间为32天，此时患者的精子总数、活动精子总数和精子形态均在正常范围内。讨论和结论在该队列中，在最近感染或从COVID-19中恢复的患者中，精液样本中未检测到SARS-CoV-2 RNA，这表明在首次检测后约1个月通过精液进行性传播的可能性不大。
Background Since SARS-CoV-2 infection was first identified in December 2019, the novel coronavirus-induced pneumonia COVID-19 spread rapidly and triggered a global pandemic. Recent bioinformatics evidence suggested that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2-the main cell entry target of SARS-CoV-2-was predominantly enriched in spermatogonia, Leydig and Sertoli cells, which suggests the potential vulnerability of the male reproductive system to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Objectives To identify SARS-CoV-2 RNA in seminal plasma and to determine semen characteristics from male patients in the acute and recovery phases of infection. Methods From February 26 to April 2, 2020, 23 male patients with COVID-19 were recruited. The clinical characteristics, laboratory findings and chest computed tomography scans of all patients were recorded in detail. We also investigated semen characteristics and the viral RNA load in semen from these patients in the acute and recovery phases of SARS-CoV-2 infection using approved methods. Results The age range of the 23 patients was 20-62 years. All patients tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in semen specimens. Among them, the virus had been cleared in 11 patients, as they tested negative. The remaining 12 patients tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in semen samples, but were positive in sputum and fecal specimens. The median interval from diagnosis to providing semen samples was 32 days, when total sperm counts, total motile sperm counts, and sperm morphology of the patients were within normal ranges. Discussion and Conclusion In this cohort of patients with a recent infection or recovering from COVID-19, there was no SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in semen samples, which indicates the unlikely possibility of sexual transmission through semen at about 1 month after first detection.