{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T02:42:35Z","timestamp":1779158555935,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Knowledge E DMCC","issue":"11","content-domain":{"domain":["knepublishing.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["IJRM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was identified in China in late December 2019 and led to a pandemic that resulted in millions of confirmed cases and deaths. The causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), uses distinct receptors and co-receptors to enter host cells. Vimentin has emerged as a potential co-receptor for SARS-CoV-2 due to the high level of vimentin expression in testis tissue.\r\nObjective: The present study investigated the link between vimentin expression level and SARS-CoV-2-induced orchitis.\r\nMaterials and Methods: In this case-control study, testis autopsy samples were collected immediately after the death of both COVID-19 cases and a control group that included individuals who died due to accidental causes. Gene expression and immunohistochemical assays were conducted to evaluate the level of vimentin expression, cell proliferation, and leukocyte infiltration.\r\n\u00a0Results: A significant expression of vimentin and infiltration of immune cells (CD68+, CD38+, and CD138+) in the testicular tissue of COVID-19 cases, along with extensive immunoglobulin G precipitation and reduced inhibin expression (p = 0.001) were observed. Additionally, gene expression analysis revealed increased expression of vimentin and decreased expression of the proliferation markers Ki67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 may disrupt spermatogenesis through immune responses and the arrest of cell proliferation.\r\nConclusion: There may be a strong link between vimentin expression and COVID-19-induced orchitis. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings. Considering some limitations, vimentin can be used as a biomarker option for testicular damage following COVID-19-induced orchitis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.18502\/ijrm.v22i11.17822","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,13]],"date-time":"2025-01-13T07:28:02Z","timestamp":1736753282000},"page":"895-906","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.18502\/knecrossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Vimentin as a contributing factor in SARS-CoV-2-induced orchitis on postmortem testicular autopsy of COVID-19 cases: A case-control study"],"prefix":"10.18502","volume":"22","author":[{"given":"Soheila","family":"Akaberi-Nasrabadi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Azam","family":"Sabbaghi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Behzad","family":"M. Toosi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Parsa","family":"Ghorbanifaraz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gholam-Reza","family":"Mahmoudiasl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abbas","family":"Aliaghaei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hajarsadat","family":"Faghihi Hosseinabadi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shahrokh","family":"Paktinat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mohammad-Amin","family":"Abdollahifar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"7770","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"237200","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hsu AL, Finlinson A, Warncke K. Mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 may impact male fertility. Reprod Sci 2021; 28: 332\u2013333.","DOI":"10.1007\/s43032-020-00304-5"},{"key":"237201","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Moghimi N, Eslami Farsani B, Ghadipasha M, Mahmoudiasl GhR, Piryaei A, Aliaghaei A, et al. COVID-19 disrupts spermatogenesis through the oxidative stress pathway following induction of apoptosis. Apoptosis 2021; 26: 415\u2013430.","DOI":"10.1007\/s10495-021-01680-2"},{"key":"237202","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Peirouvi T, Aliaghaei A, Eslami Farsani B, Ziaeipour S, Ebrahimi V, Forozesh M, et al. COVID-19 disrupts the blood-testis barrier through the induction of inflammatory cytokines and disruption of junctional proteins. Inflamm Res 2021; 70: 1165\u20131175.","DOI":"10.1007\/s00011-021-01497-4"},{"key":"237203","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hoffmann M, Kleine-Weber H, Schroeder S, Kr\u00fcger N, Herrler T, Erichsen S, et al. SARS-CoV-2 cell entry depends on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 and is blocked by a clinically proven protease inhibitor. Cell 2020; 181: 271\u2013280.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2020.02.052"},{"key":"237204","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pan F, Xiao X, Guo J, Song Y, Li H, Patel DP, et al. No evidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 in semen of males recovering from coronavirus disease 2019. Fertil Steril 2020; 113: 1135\u20131139.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fertnstert.2020.04.024"},{"key":"237205","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Stanley KE, Thomas E, Leaver M, Wells D. Coronavirus disease-19 and fertility: Viral host entry protein expression in male and female reproductive tissues. Fertil Steril 2020; 114: 33\u201343.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fertnstert.2020.05.001"},{"key":"237206","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Duarte-Neto AN, Teixeira TA, Caldini EG, Kanamura CT, Gomes-Gouv\u00eaa MS, Dos Santos ABG, et al. Testicular pathology in fatal COVID-19: A descriptive autopsy study. Andrology 2022; 10: 13\u201323.","DOI":"10.1111\/andr.13073"},{"key":"237207","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yu YTC, Chien SC, Chen IY, Lai CT, Tsay YG, Chang SC, et al. Surface vimentin is critical for the cell entry of SARS-CoV. J Biomed Sci 2016; 23: 14.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12929-016-0234-7"},{"key":"237208","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhao S, Miao C, Gao X, Li Z, Eriksson JE, Jiu Y. Vimentin cage - a double-edged sword in host anti-infection defense. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2024; 86: 102317.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ceb.2023.102317"},{"key":"237209","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Beileke S, Claassen H, Wagner W, Matthies C, Ruf C, Hartmann A, et al. Expression and localization of lung surfactant proteins in human testis. PLoS One 2015; 10: e0143058.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0143058"},{"key":"237210","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zomer HD, Reddi PP. Characterization of rodent Sertoli cell primary cultures. Mol Reprod Dev 2020; 87: 857\u2013870.","DOI":"10.1002\/mrd.23402"},{"key":"237211","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhao W-P, Wang H-W, Liu J, Tan P-P, Luo X-L, Zhu Sh-Q, et al. Positive PCNA and Ki-67 expression in the testis correlates with spermatogenesis dysfunction in fluoride-treated rats. Biol Trace Elem Res 2018; 186: 489\u2013497.","DOI":"10.1007\/s12011-018-1338-6"},{"key":"237212","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li Zh, Paulin D, Lacolley P, Coletti D, Agbulut O. Vimentin as a target for the treatment of COVID-19. BMJ Open Respir Res 2020; 7: e000623.","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjresp-2020-000623"},{"key":"237213","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Suprewicz \u0141, Swoger M, Gupta S, Piktel E, Byfield FJ, Iwamoto DV, et al. Extracellular vimentin as a target against SARS-CoV-2 host cell invasion. Small 2022; 18: 2105640.","DOI":"10.1002\/smll.202105640"},{"key":"237214","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dos Santos G, Rogel MR, Baker MA, Troken JR, Urich D, Morales-Nebreda L, et al. Vimentin regulates activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Nat Commun 2015; 6: 6574.","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms7574"},{"key":"237215","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu Y, Yan LM, Wan L, Xiang TX, Le A, Liu JM, et al. Viral dynamics in mild and severe cases of COVID-19. Lancet Infect Dis 2020; 20: 656\u2013657.","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(20)30232-2"},{"key":"237216","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li H, Xiao X, Zhang J, Zafar MI, Wu C, Long Y, et al. Impaired spermatogenesis in COVID-19 patients. EClinicalMedicine 2020; 28: 100604.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eclinm.2020.100604"},{"key":"237217","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ma X, Guan C, Chen R, Wang Y, Feng S, Wang R, et al. Pathological and molecular examinations of postmortem testis biopsies reveal SARS-CoV-2 infection in the testis and spermatogenesis damage in COVID-19 patients. Cell Mol Immunol 2021; 18: 487\u2013489.","DOI":"10.1038\/s41423-020-00604-5"},{"key":"237218","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shigyo M, Kuboyama T, Sawai Y, Tada-Umezaki M, Tohda C. Extracellular vimentin interacts with insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor to promote axonal growth. Sci Rep 2015; 5: 12055.","DOI":"10.1038\/srep12055"},{"key":"237219","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shigyo M, Tohda C. Extracellular vimentin is a novel axonal growth facilitator for functional recovery in spinal cord-injured mice. Sci Rep 2016; 6: 28293.","DOI":"10.1038\/srep28293"},{"key":"237220","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mak T, Br\u00fcggemann H. Vimentin in bacterial infections. Cells 2016; 5: 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/cells5020018"},{"key":"237221","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yang J, Zou L, Yang Y, Yuan J, Hu Z, Liu H, et al. Superficial vimentin mediates DENV-2 infection of vascular endothelial cells. Sci Rep 2016; 6: 38372.","DOI":"10.1038\/srep38372"},{"key":"237222","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sch\u00e4fer G, Graham LM, Lang DM, Blumenthal MJ, Bergant Maru\u0161i\u010d M, Katz AA. Vimentin modulates infectious internalization of human papillomavirus 16 pseudovirions. J Virol 2017; 91: e00307.","DOI":"10.1128\/JVI.00307-17"},{"key":"237223","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Thalla DG, Jung P, Bischoff M, Lautenschl\u00e4ger F. Role of extracellular vimentin in cancer-cell functionality and its influence on cell monolayer permeability changes induced by SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22: 7469.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms22147469"},{"key":"237224","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ramos I, Stamatakis K, Oeste CL, P\u00e9rez-Sala D. Vimentin as a multifaceted player and potential therapeutic target in viral infections. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21: 4675.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms21134675"},{"key":"237225","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Parvanian S, Coelho-Rato LS, Patteson AE, Eriksson JE. Vimentin takes a hike-emerging roles of extracellular vimentin in cancer and wound healing. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2023; 85: 102246.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ceb.2023.102246"},{"key":"237226","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Arrindell J, Desnues B. Vimentin: From a cytoskeletal protein to a critical modulator of immune response and a target for infection. Front Immunol 2023; 14: 1224352.","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2023.1224352"},{"key":"237227","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yang M, Chen S, Huang B, Zhong JM, Su H, Chen YJ, et al. Pathological findings in the testes of COVID-19 patients: Clinical implications. Eur Urol Focus 2020; 6: 1124\u20131129.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.euf.2020.05.009"},{"key":"237228","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Xu J, Qi L, Chi X, Yang J, Wei X, Gong E, et al. Orchitis: A complication of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)1. Biol Reprod 2006; 74: 410\u2013416.","DOI":"10.1095\/biolreprod.105.044776"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine (IJRM)"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/knepublishing.com\/index.php\/ijrm\/article\/download\/17822\/27874","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/knepublishing.com\/index.php\/ijrm\/article\/download\/17822\/28016","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/knepublishing.com\/index.php\/ijrm\/article\/download\/17822\/27874","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,20]],"date-time":"2025-03-20T04:59:41Z","timestamp":1742446781000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/knepublishing.com\/index.php\/ijrm\/article\/view\/17822"},"secondary":[{"URL":"https:\/\/ijrm.ir\/article-1-3398-en.html","label":"UNIVERSITY"}]},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,1]]},"references-count":29,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.18502\/ijrm.v22i11.17822","relation":{},"ISSN":["2476-3772","2476-4108"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2476-3772","type":"electronic"},{"value":"2476-4108","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,1]]}}}