It is well established that viruses are important components that contribute to the production of autoantibodies and the onset of autoimmune diseases in patients. Numerous reports suggest that patients with COVID-19 develop several types of autoantibodies, which may result from general hyperstimulation of the immune system or molecular mimicry involving SARS-CoV-2 protein sequences and components specific to the body.
Through a predictive in silico study and the resulting analysis of synthetic peptides from the Spike protein, an international consortium of researchers and clinicians (Germany, Brazil, Colombia, France, Israel, Italy, Russia, and Singapore) demonstrated the presence of antibodies directed against proteins related to spermatogenesis in patients with long COVID. These antibodies (not found in uninfected vaccinated individuals) could eventually cause male fertility problems that may manifest years after infection.
This multicenter study, coordinated by Sylviane Muller, is published in Front. Immunol.
Article:
Talamini L, Fonseca DLM, Kanduc D, Chaloin O, Verdot C, Galmiche C, Dotan A, Filgueiras IS, Borghi MO, Meroni PL, Gavrilova NY, Ryabkova VA, Churilov LP, Halpert G, Lensch C, Thurner L, Fong SW, Ng LFP, Rénia L, Young BE, Lye DC, Lozano JM, Cabral-Marques O, Shoenfeld Y, Muller S (2025). Long COVID-19 autoantibodies and their potential effect on fertility. Front Immunol 16:1540341. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1540341.
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