Is Male Reproductive System More Vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 Than Female’s?

摘要

Coronaviruses are the largest family of viruses with RNA genome and more than 30 identified members. Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 was initially identified with extensive respiratory symptoms such as chest pain, pulmonary edema, dyspnea, heavy breathing, shortness of breath, and dry cough. Following spreading of the pandemic worldwide and increasing the number of patients with severe disease, multiorgan failures including fever, fatigue and myalgia, sore throat, diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, headache, rhinorrhea and vomiting in addition to respiratory manifestations were reported. At the same time, ACE2 was identified as a receptor for spike protein (S) of SARS-CoV-2, which facilitates virus entry into target cells. ACE2 was known to be expressed in more than 30 organs, such as the kidneys, testes, heart, gallbladder, small intestine, colon, thyroid, and adipose tissue, etc. which are potentially targets of SARS-CoV-2 and may be the cause of several organ failures following COVID-19 infection (1).