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World J Mens Health
. 2022 Jan 1.
doi: 10.5534/wjmh.210174. Online ahead of print.
SARS-CoV-2 in the Prostate: Immunohistochemical and Ultrastructural Studies
Rohit Reddy 1 , Natoli Farber 1 , Eliyahu Kresch 1 , Deepa Seetharam 1 , Parris Diaz 1 , Ranjith Ramasamy 2
Affiliations
- PMID: 35021303
- DOI: 10.5534/wjmh.210174
Abstract
The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was discovered in 2019 and has proven to be a significant public health challenge. While viruses from the coronavirus family have been established as causes of respiratory tract infections, SARS-CoV-2 has also been found in the heart, kidney, testes, and penis. This paper investigates whether SARS-CoV-2 can linger in the prostate by examining the histopathological, ultrastructural, and immunofluorescent elements of prostatic tissue from a patient who was infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus prior to having a holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) procedure. The findings of this case report suggest that COVID-19 has both the ability to enter prostatic tissue during an acute infection and persist over a timeframe beyond the initial infection period as RNA-containing viral bodies. This case report lays the foundation for future investigations to examine any histopathological changes to the prostatic tissue that may be associated with SARS-CoV-2 viral infection.
Keywords: COVID-19; Microscopy, electron; Prostate; Prostatic hyperplasia; SARS-CoV-2.