Abstract
B.1.1.7 is a recently discovered variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) associated with increased transmissibility. Recent findings indicate that this variant has a propensity to infect adolescents and children at higher rates than adults. The virus gains entry into various body cells utilizing angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) and basigin (CD147) as receptors. The virus mainly affects type II pneumocytes of lungs, endothelial cells, enterocytes, and renal tubular cells. It is reported to affect testes, causing testicular pain, and producing histopathological changes, as observed in some autopsies. The B.1.1.7 variant can also affect various cells in the testes. This raises a major concern regarding the long-term effects of the viral infection on spermatogenesis and highlights the pressing need for a robust database of serum samples from infected male children.
Highlights
Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in the respiratory tracts of pneumonia patients
Histopathology of testes in patients of COVID-19 demonstrated the tubular detachment of Sertoli cells and reduced spermatogenesis [5]
Our aim is to discuss the potential implications of the B.1.1.7 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 on testes of children and adolescent males and the possibility of subfertility or infertility in the years to come
Summary
After identifying the pathology in several countries, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, a pandemic on March 11, 2020, which has since resulted in over 94.5 million people across the world with confirmed positive cases [1, 2]. Patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 experience a wide array of symptoms including, but not limited to, fever or chills, cough, dyspnea, muscle aches, anosmia, pharyngitis, congestion, nausea or emesis, and diarrhea [3]. On December 14, 2020, a new, potentially more transmissible variant of SARS-CoV-2, B.1.1.7, known as variant of concern 202012/01, was discovered and spreading quickly through the United Kingdom and the rest of the world [6] This B.1.1.7 variant has a propensity to infect children and adolescents [7]
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