Metabolic, Oxidative and Psychological Stress As Mediators of the Effect of COVID-19 on Male Infertility: A Literature Review

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2022 May 14

PMID 35564672

Authors

Gesthimani Mintziori

Leonidas H Duntas

Stavroula Veneti

Dimitrios G Goulis

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Over 300 million patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported worldwide since the outbreak of the pandemic in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. COVID-19 is induced by the acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the male reproductive system is unclear. The aim of this review is to assess the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on male fertility and the impact of possible mediators, such as metabolic, oxidative and psychological stress. SARS-CoV-2 infection aggravates metabolic stress and directly or indirectly affects male fertility by reducing seminal health. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increased psychological distress. These data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection reduces male fertility, possibly by means of metabolic, oxidative and psychological stress. Therefore, among other consequences, the possibility of COVID-19-induced male infertility should not be neglected.

Citing Articles

Protective effect of platelet-rich plasma against structural and functional changes of the adult rat testis in carbimazole-induced hypothyroidism.

Bordbar H, Sattar-Shamsabadi M, Dehghani F, Karimi F Clin Exp Reprod Med. 2024; 51(3):225-235.

PMID: 38599887 PMC: 11372310. DOI: 10.5653/cerm.2023.06695.

Semen proteomics reveals alterations in fertility-related proteins post-recovery from COVID-19.

Dash A, Salkar A, Nissa M, Makwana P, Athalye A, Parikh S Front Physiol. 2023; 14:1212959.

PMID: 38028760 PMC: 10665489. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1212959.

COVID-19 and Male Infertility: Is There a Role for Antioxidants?.

Kalfas T, Kaltsas A, Symeonidis E, Symeonidis A, Zikopoulos A, Moustakli E Antioxidants (Basel). 2023; 12(8).

PMID: 37627478 PMC: 10451649. DOI: 10.3390/antiox12081483.

Attenuation of the Severity of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome by Pomiferin through Blocking Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in an AKT/Foxo1 Pathway-Dependent Manner.

Tang Z, Yang Z, Feng H, Zhou X, Mao M Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2022; 2022:5236908.

PMID: 36471865 PMC: 9719418. DOI: 10.1155/2022/5236908.

References

Bienvenu L, Noonan J, Wang X, Peter K . Higher mortality of COVID-19 in males: sex differences in immune response and cardiovascular comorbidities. Cardiovasc Res. 2020; 116(14):2197-2206. PMC: 7665363. DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvaa284. View

Heinrich A, DeFalco T . Essential roles of interstitial cells in testicular development and function. Andrology. 2019; 8(4):903-914. PMC: 7036326. DOI: 10.1111/andr.12703. View

Silva N, de Cassia Ribeiro-Silva R, Ferreira A, Silveira Silva Teixeira C, Rocha A, Alves F . Combined association of obesity and other cardiometabolic diseases with severe COVID-19 outcomes: a nationwide cross-sectional study of 21 773 Brazilian adult and elderly inpatients. BMJ Open. 2021; 11(8):e050739. PMC: 8354760. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050739. View

Zheng X, Li Z, Wang G, Wang H, Zhou Y, Zhao X . Sperm epigenetic alterations contribute to inter- and transgenerational effects of paternal exposure to long-term psychological stress via evading offspring embryonic reprogramming. Cell Discov. 2021; 7(1):101. PMC: 8553786. DOI: 10.1038/s41421-021-00343-5. View

Radzikowska U, Ding M, Tan G, Zhakparov D, Peng Y, Wawrzyniak P . Distribution of ACE2, CD147, CD26, and other SARS-CoV-2 associated molecules in tissues and immune cells in health and in asthma, COPD, obesity, hypertension, and COVID-19 risk factors. Allergy. 2020; 75(11):2829-2845. PMC: 7300910. DOI: 10.1111/all.14429. View

Evans E, Scholten J, Mzyk A, Reyes-San-Martin C, Llumbet A, Hamoh T . Male subfertility and oxidative stress. Redox Biol. 2021; 46:102071. PMC: 8342954. DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2021.102071. View

Banihani S . Human semen quality as affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection: An up-to-date review. Andrologia. 2021; 54(2):e14295. PMC: 8646253. DOI: 10.1111/and.14295. View

Al-Kuraishy H, Al-Gareeb A, Faidah H, Alexiou A, El-Saber Batiha G . Testosterone in COVID-19: An Adversary Bane or Comrade Boon. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2021; 11:666987. PMC: 8455954. DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.666987. View

Gaskins A, Sundaram R, Buck Louis G, Chavarro J . Predictors of Sexual Intercourse Frequency Among Couples Trying to Conceive. J Sex Med. 2018; 15(4):519-528. PMC: 5882561. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2018.02.005. View

10.

Omolaoye T, Adeniji A, Cardona Maya W, Du Plessis S . SARS-COV-2 (Covid-19) and male fertility: Where are we?. Reprod Toxicol. 2020; 99:65-70. PMC: 7689309. DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2020.11.012. View

11.

Abdelhamid M, Fellah A, Elmarghani A, Al Msellati I . An Assessment of Men Semen Alterations in SARS-CoV-2: Is Fever the Principal Concern?. Reprod Sci. 2022; 30(1):72-80. PMC: 8863294. DOI: 10.1007/s43032-022-00889-z. View

12.

Haghpanah A, Masjedi F, Alborzi S, Hosseinpour A, Dehghani A, Malekmakan L . Potential mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 action on male gonadal function and fertility: Current status and future prospects. Andrologia. 2020; 53(1):e13883. PMC: 7645932. DOI: 10.1111/and.13883. View

13.

Abel K, Carr M, Ashcroft D, Chalder T, Chew-Graham C, Hope H . Association of SARS-CoV-2 Infection With Psychological Distress, Psychotropic Prescribing, Fatigue, and Sleep Problems Among UK Primary Care Patients. JAMA Netw Open. 2021; 4(11):e2134803. PMC: 8596199. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.34803. View

14.

Swerdloff R, Dudley R, Page S, Wang C, Salameh W . Dihydrotestosterone: Biochemistry, Physiology, and Clinical Implications of Elevated Blood Levels. Endocr Rev. 2017; 38(3):220-254. PMC: 6459338. DOI: 10.1210/er.2016-1067. View

15.

Saylam B, Uguz M, Yarpuzlu M, Efesoy O, Akbay E, Cayan S . The presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in semen samples of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Andrologia. 2021; 53(8):e14145. PMC: 8420322. DOI: 10.1111/and.14145. View

16.

Lakhan R, Agrawal A, Sharma M . Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress during COVID-19 Pandemic. J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2020; 11(4):519-525. PMC: 7595780. DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1716442. View

17.

Maleki B, Tartibian B . COVID-19 and male reproductive function: a prospective, longitudinal cohort study. Reproduction. 2021; 161(3):319-331. DOI: 10.1530/REP-20-0382. View

18.

Salam A, Horby P . The Breadth of Viruses in Human Semen. Emerg Infect Dis. 2017; 23(11):1922-1924. PMC: 5652425. DOI: 10.3201/eid2311.171049. View

19.

Vander Borght M, Wyns C . Fertility and infertility: Definition and epidemiology. Clin Biochem. 2018; 62:2-10. DOI: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2018.03.012. View

20.

Wang D, Hu B, Hu C, Zhu F, Liu X, Zhang J . Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA. 2020; 323(11):1061-1069. PMC: 7042881. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.1585. View