SARS-CoV-2 Infects Hamster Testes
1
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
2
Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0609, USA
3
Institute for Human Infection and Immunity, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Francesca Caccuri and Daria Bortolotti
Microorganisms 2021, 9(6), 1318; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9061318
Received: 21 May 2021
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Revised: 8 June 2021
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Accepted: 14 June 2021
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Published: 17 June 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SARS-CoV-2 Systemic Effects: New Clues)
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect millions of people worldwide.
Although SARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory virus, there is growing concern
that the disease could cause damage and pathology outside the lungs,
including in the genital tract. Studies suggest that SARS-CoV-2
infection can damage the testes and reduce testosterone levels, but the
underlying mechanisms are unknown and evidence of virus replication in
testicular cells is lacking. We infected golden Syrian hamsters
intranasally, a model for mild human COVID-19, and detected viral RNA in
testes samples without histopathological changes up to one month
post-infection. Using an ex vivo infection model, we detected SARS-CoV-2
replication in hamster testicular cells. Taken together, our data raise
the possibility that testes damage observed in severe cases of COVID-19
could be partly explained by direct SARS-CoV-2 infection of the
testicular cells.
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Keywords:
SARS-CoV-2; testes; Sertoli; hamster; reproductive tract
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MDPI and ACS Style
Campos, R.K.; Camargos, V.N.; Azar, S.R.; Haines, C.A.; Eyzaguirre, E.J.; Rossi, S.L. SARS-CoV-2 Infects Hamster Testes. Microorganisms 2021, 9, 1318. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9061318
AMA Style
Campos RK, Camargos VN, Azar SR, Haines CA, Eyzaguirre EJ, Rossi SL. SARS-CoV-2 Infects Hamster Testes. Microorganisms. 2021; 9(6):1318. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9061318
Chicago/Turabian StyleCampos, Rafael K., Vidyleison N. Camargos, Sasha R. Azar, Clint A. Haines, Eduardo J. Eyzaguirre, and Shannan L. Rossi. 2021. "SARS-CoV-2 Infects Hamster Testes" Microorganisms 9, no. 6: 1318. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9061318
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