Abstract Objective To identify cell types in the male and female reproductive systems at risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection due to expression of host genes and proteins used by the virus for cell entry. Design Descriptive analysis of transcriptomic and proteomic data. Setting Academic research department and clinical diagnostic laboratory. Patients/Animals None. Focused on previously generated gene and protein expression data. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Identification of cell types co-expressing the key ACE2 and TMPRSS2 genes and proteins, as well as other candidates potentially involved in SARS-CoV-2 cell entry. Results Based on single cell RNA sequencing data, co-expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 was not detected in testicular cells, including sperm. A subpopulation of oocytes in non-human primate ovarian tissue were found to express ACE2 and TMPRSS2, but co-expression was not observed in ovarian somatic cells. RNA expression of TMPRSS2 in 18 samples of human cumulus cells was shown to be low or absent. There was general agreement between publicly available bulk RNA and protein datasets in terms of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression patterns in testis, ovary, endometrial and placental cells. Conclusion These analyses suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection is unlikely to have long-term effects on male and female reproductive function. While the results cannot be considered definitive they imply that procedures in which oocytes are collected and fertilized in vitro are associated with very little risk of viral transmission from gametes to embryos and may indeed have the potential to minimize exposure of susceptible reproductive cell types to infection when compared to natural conception.

中文翻译：

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冠状病毒疾病（COVID-19）和生育能力：男性和女性生殖组织中病毒宿主进入蛋白的表达


摘要 目的 根据病毒进入细胞所用的宿主基因和蛋白质的表达，确定男性和女性生殖系统中面临 SARS-CoV-2 感染风险的细胞类型。设计转录组和蛋白质组数据的描述性分析。设置学术研究部和临床诊断实验室。患者/动物 无。专注于先前生成的基因和蛋白质表达数据。干预措施 无。主要成果指标 鉴定共同表达关键 ACE2 和 TMPRSS2 基因和蛋白质的细胞类型，以及可能参与 SARS-CoV-2 细胞进入的其他候选细胞。结果基于单细胞RNA测序数据，在睾丸细胞（包括精子）中未检测到ACE2和TMPRSS2的共表达。发现非人灵长类动物卵巢组织中的卵母细胞亚群表达 ACE2 和 TMPRSS2，但在卵巢体细胞中未观察到共表达。 18 个人类卵丘细胞样本中 TMPRSS2 的 RNA 表达水平较低或不表达。公开的大量 RNA 和蛋白质数据集在睾丸、卵巢、子宫内膜和胎盘细胞中 ACE2 和 TMPRSS2 表达模式方面存在普遍一致性。结论 这些分析表明 SARS-CoV-2 感染不太可能对男性和女性生殖功能产生长期影响。虽然结果不能被认为是确定的，但它们意味着在体外收集卵母细胞和受精的程序与从配子到胚胎的病毒传播风险非常小有关，并且确实有可能最大限度地减少易感生殖细胞类型在感染时的暴露。与自然受孕相比。