No abstract

Background:The SARS-CoV-2 virus displays a strong impact on the respiratory, digestive, and reproductive systems, and has led to questions about long-term effects. Erectile dysfunction is the inability for a male to achieve or sustain an erection during sexual intercourse, and commonly develops in men due to both physiological and psychologic factors. SARS-CoV-2 can affect the vasculature that surrounds endothelial tissue and thus has raised the question of a possible relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and erectile dysfunction (ED). Thus far, no studies have established a relationship between COVID-19 and ED. In this review, we analyze current available data and summarize the concepts regarding the current known relationship between COVID-19 and ED. Such a study might be helpful for urologists and andrologists to manage patients with ED and a history off COVID-19 infection. Methods: A systematic review was used to analyze the relationship between COVID-19 and ED. A literature search on three databases, Google Scholar, PubMed, and ResearchGate was conducted. Search terms used were COVID-19, erectile dysfunction, and SARS-CoV-2. All available studies were analyzed up to December 2021. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in male reproductive and sexual health diagnoses, including ED, with numbers showing that COVID-19 increases the chance of developing ED nearly sixfold. Physiological issues were also found in the reproductive system of men who had contracted COVID-19. For example, endothelial progenitor cells were much lower in patients positive with COVID-19 even when compared to men with severe ED who had never contracted COVID-19. However, it is still not clear how consistent it is to find SARS-CoV-2 in the reproductive system as one study showed only two out of five testes were positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the reproductive system and another study showed that there were only 3 out of 26 cases in which the SARS-CoV-2 spike existed in the endothelia of the blood-testis barrier, seminiferous tubules, and sperm of the epididymis. Conclusions: Many correlations can be made between COVID-19 and ED. However, future testing and research must be completed to determine a causal relationship between COVID-19 and ED.

Objective: Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all gynecologic tumors. Current treatment methods include debulking surgery with chemotherapy, however even with treatment, the five-year survival rate is below 45%. Cancer immunotherapy is an innovative treatment option being highly researched. Interleukins (ILs) are signaling molecules used by the human immune system to assist in detecting and destroying cancer cells. The ability of tumor cells to evade the immune system is a major challenge we face in fighting cancer. Ox40L/Ox40 and 4-1BBL/4-1BB are key immune costimulatory molecules that increase T cell activation to eliminate tumors. Past research has shown that IL9 has unique influences on various types of cancer, however, its role in ovarian cancer has not yet been assessed. In this study, ovarian cancer cells were treated with IL9 and the expression of Ox40L and 4-1BBL were measured. Methods: A2780 ovarian cancer cells were treated with IL9. Proliferation of ovarian cancer cells was measured by a Clonogenic Survival Assay and Quick Proliferation Assay. RT-PCR was conducted to determine whether IL9 upregulated the costimulatory molecules Ox40L and 4-1BBL. IHC was performed to further investigate IL9 upregulation of Ox40L and 4-1BBL. Results: Treatment of A2780 ovarian cancer cells with IL9 resulted in decreased proliferation of the ovarian cancer cells. By using RT-PCR, it was determined that IL9 treated ovarian cancer cells displayed upregulation of the costimulatory molecules Ox40L and 4-1BBL. Upregulation of OX40L and 4-1BBL was further confirmed by IHC. Conclusions: IL9 inhibited growth of ovarian cancer cells, and IL9 upregulated the key immune costimulatory molecules Ox40L and 4-1BBL. This suggests that increased expression of Ox40L and 4-1BBL may be associated with the inhibitory effect of IL9 on proliferation of ovarian cancer. This study warrants further investigation of the role of Ox40L and 4-1BBL in ovarian cancer growth.

This is a letter to the editor on the discussion on COVID-19 and prostate cancer.