Immune-endocrine Interactions and Remodelling of Metabolic Homeostasis of Testicular Cells During SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Abstract

The testis is the site for the production of sperm and testosterone. There exists a natural blood-testis barrier in order to maintain the internal metabolic homeostasis of the male gonads. Variation in metabolic homeostasis may lead to unexplained fertility issues, reduced production of sperm, production of deformed, non-viable sperm, and hamper the production of testosterone during SARSCoV- 2 infection along with physiological systems of the human body in different situations. The male reproductive system than female is more adversely affected by the immune changes due to viral infection. There occurs a significant immune–endocrine interaction in the gonads, which can be more precisely termed an “immune-neuroendocrine interaction”. The “hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis” plays an important role in maintaining the normal metabolic homeostasis of the testis. The net impact is a change and reordering of the testicular metabolic homeostasis, leading to compromised male infertility in post-COVID-19 infected individuals. This review is a brief account of the immune and endocrine interactions that occur in the testis during COVID-19 infection, leading to remodeling of the testicular metabolic homeostasis by various mechanisms, which ultimately may lead to infertility in individuals who have been infected by the Coronavirus.