According to a short study done by experts at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, even mild or moderate COVID-19 disease might modify the number of proteins essential to male reproductive function, thereby impairing fertility.

The study, which was published this week in the journal ACS Omega, looked at protein levels in the sperm of men who had recovered from COVID-19.

Although SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, mostly affects the respiratory system, the infection and the body’s response to it, according to the researchers, also damage other tissues.

According to the researchers, recent data suggests that COVID-19 infection can lower male fertility, and the virus has been discovered in male reproductive organs.

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The team, which included researchers from Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre and IIT-B, questioned whether COVID-19 infection may have long-term effects on the male reproductive system.

The researchers analysed the amounts of proteins in the sperm of healthy men and those who had previously been diagnosed with mild or moderate COVID-19.

They examined sperm samples from ten healthy men and seventeen individuals who had just recovered from COVID-19. There was no prior history of infertility among the men, who varied in age from 20 to 45.

The researchers discovered that the recovered males had considerably lower sperm count and motility, as well as less normally shaped sperm than those who had not been exposed to COVID-19.

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When the researchers used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to examine semen proteins, they discovered 27 proteins at greater levels and 21 proteins at lower levels in COVID-19-recovered men compared to the control group.

Many of the proteins, according to the researchers, are involved in reproductive function.

According to the researchers, two of the fertility-related proteins, semenogelin 1 and prosaposin, were present at less than half their levels in the COVID-19-recovered group’s sperm compared to the controls’ sperm.

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According to the researchers, the data show that SARS-CoV-2 has direct or indirect impacts on male reproductive health that last after recovery.

They stated that the research might provide insights into the physiological processes connected with sickness or harm to human reproduction in recovered individuals.

The researchers did, however, caution that bigger trials should be conducted to validate the findings, and a control group of men who had recently recovered from other flu-like diseases should be included to establish that the findings are unique to COVID-19.