No evidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 in semen of males recovering from coronavirus disease 2019

Abstract

Objective To describe detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)–coronavirus 2 (CoV-2) in seminal fluid of patients recovering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to describe the expression profile of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and Transmembrane Serine Protease 2 (TMPRSS2) within the testicle. Design Observational, cross-sectional study. Setting Tertiary referral center. Patient(s) Thirty-four adult Chinese males diagnosed with COVID-19 through confirmatory quantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) from pharyngeal swab samples. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Identification of SARS-CoV-2 on qRT-PCR of single ejaculated semen samples. Semen quality was not assessed. Expression patterns of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the human testis are explored through previously published single-cell transcriptome datasets. Result(s) Six patients (19%) demonstrated scrotal discomfort suggestive of viral orchitis around the time of COVID-19 confirmation. Severe acute respiratory syndrome–CoV-2 was not detected in semen after a median of 31 days (interquartile range, 29-36 days) from COVID-19 diagnosis. Single-cell transcriptome analysis demonstrates sparse expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2, with almost no overlapping gene expression. Conclusion(s) Severe acute respiratory syndrome–CoV-2 was not detected in the semen of patients recovering from COVID-19 1 month after COVID-19 diagnosis. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2–mediated viral entry of SARS–CoV-2 into target host cells is unlikely to occur within the human testicle based on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression. The long-term effects of SARS–CoV-2 on male reproductive function remain unknown.