Does SARS-CoV-2 Affect the Prostate? A Molecular Analysis from a Case Series of COVID-19 Patients.
Sara StiglianiClaudia MassarottiSimona CocoGuglielmo ManticaNataniele PiolBruno SpinaElena MaccariniMonica ColomboPaola AnseriniPaola ScaruffiPublished in: The world journal of men's health (2023)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes COVID-19 that has been spreading worldwide since December 2019. Viral entry into cells requires expression of both angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) on the surface of the host cell. The male reproductive system, including the prostate, was supposed to be a potential target for SARS-CoV-2 since the presence of ACE and TMPRS2 receptors. This paper investigated for the first time the presence of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA in the prostatic tissue of a patient with active infection. In addition, we searched for the virus in the prostate of five patients after their recovery from COVID-19. The SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in any of the prostate tissues tested even during the acute phase of infection. As case series have limitations, causality cannot be excluded and sporadic evidence of prostatic tissue invasion by SARS-CoV-2 may be detectable.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- benign prostatic hyperplasia
- prostate cancer
- angiotensin converting enzyme
- angiotensin ii
- end stage renal disease
- radical prostatectomy
- coronavirus disease
- chronic kidney disease
- induced apoptosis
- stem cells
- newly diagnosed
- prognostic factors
- mass spectrometry
- single cell
- peritoneal dialysis
- risk assessment
- high resolution
- late onset
- signaling pathway
- cell death
- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis