{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T01:39:03Z","timestamp":1778636343045,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,29]],"date-time":"2023-05-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1685318400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China","award":["2020A1515110362"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020A1515110362"]}]},{"name":"Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China","award":["2020KZDZX1110"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020KZDZX1110"]}]},{"name":"Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China","award":["2021E05028"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021E05028"]}]},{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Department of Education Innovative School Project, China","award":["2020A1515110362"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020A1515110362"]}]},{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Department of Education Innovative School Project, China","award":["2020KZDZX1110"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020KZDZX1110"]}]},{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Department of Education Innovative School Project, China","award":["2021E05028"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021E05028"]}]},{"name":"Marine Biology Foundation of Zhanjiang Bureau of Science and Technology","award":["2020A1515110362"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020A1515110362"]}]},{"name":"Marine Biology Foundation of Zhanjiang Bureau of Science and Technology","award":["2020KZDZX1110"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020KZDZX1110"]}]},{"name":"Marine Biology Foundation of Zhanjiang Bureau of Science and Technology","award":["2021E05028"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021E05028"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) disrupts the blood-testis barrier (BTB), resulting in alterations in spermatogenesis. However, whether BTB-related proteins (such as ZO-1, claudin11, N-cadherin, and CX43) are targeted by SARS-CoV-2 remains to be clarified. BTB is a physical barrier between the blood vessels and the seminiferous tubules of the animal testis, and it is one of the tightest blood-tissue barriers in the mammalian body. In this study, we investigated the effects of viral proteins, via ectopic expression of individual viral proteins, on BTB-related proteins, the secretion of immune factors, and the formation and degradation of autophagosomes in human primary Sertoli cells. Our study demonstrated that ectopic expression of viral E (envelope protein) and M (membrane protein) induced the expressions of ZO-1 and claudin11, promoted the formation of autophagosomes, and inhibited autophagy flux. S (spike protein) reduced the expression of ZO-1, N-cadherin, and CX43, induced the expression of claudin11, and inhibited the formation and degradation of autophagosomes. N (nucleocapsid protein) reduced the expression of ZO-1, claudin11, and N-cadherin. All the structural proteins (SPs) E, M, N, and S increased the expression of the FasL gene, and the E protein promoted the expression and secretion of FasL and TGF-\u03b2 proteins and the expression of IL-1. Blockage of autophagy by specific inhibitors resulted in the suppression of BTB-related proteins by the SPs. Our results indicated that SARS-CoV-2 SPs (E, M, and S) regulate BTB-related proteins through autophagy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v15061272","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,30]],"date-time":"2023-05-30T02:04:21Z","timestamp":1685412261000},"page":"1272","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["SARS-CoV-2 Structural Proteins Modulated Blood-Testis Barrier-Related Proteins through Autophagy in the Primary Sertoli Cells"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Kai","family":"Kang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yao-Dan","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Si-Qi","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ri-Wei","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jin-Jun","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Li-Long","family":"An","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Science, College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0771-1791","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jiang","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Science, College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"e14357","article-title":"Frequency, signs and symptoms, and criteria adopted for long COVID-19: A systematic review","volume":"75","author":"Cabrera","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. 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