Scientists Warn That Long COVID Autoantibodies Are Sabotaging Human Fertility Worldwide!
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team May 29, 2025 1 day, 3 hours, 48 minutes ago
Medical News: A new international study involving researchers from leading institutions in France, Brazil, Italy, Israel, Russia, Germany, Singapore, and Colombia is raising alarm about the potential link between long COVID and declining fertility in both men and women. The researchers have uncovered how immune system confusion triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infections might be generating dangerous autoantibodies that could interfere with human reproductive functions—particularly in long COVID patients.
Scientists Warn That Long COVID Autoantibodies Are Sabotaging Human Fertility Worldwide
This
Medical News report highlights that COVID-19 may do far more than cause acute respiratory illness or lingering fatigue. Scientists now believe that autoantibodies, mistakenly produced by the body’s immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, might also be targeting proteins essential for sperm production and ovarian function. These findings suggest a worrisome connection between viral exposure and possible future fertility challenges, particularly in younger individuals and women suffering from chronic post-COVID symptoms.
The Massive International Collaboration Behind the Study
The study was led by Sylviane Muller from CNRS UMR7242 Biotechnology and Cell Signalling at the University of Strasbourg, along with 26 other collaborators from prestigious institutions such as the University of São Paulo, University of Bari, Sheba Medical Center in Israel, Saint Petersburg State University, ASTAR Infectious Diseases Labs in Singapore, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and Universidad Nacional de Colombia, among others.
Researchers analyzed the blood samples of 182 individuals, including acute and long COVID patients, healthy vaccinated volunteers, and pre-pandemic donors. They used a computational approach to identify parts of the virus’s Spike protein that closely resemble human proteins tied to sperm production and ovarian health. From a pool of 60 such shared sequences, they synthesized four peptides for deeper analysis.
Spike Protein Confusion Causes Body to Attack Itself
Among these four peptides, “Peptide 2” and “Peptide 4” emerged as highly reactive in the sera of infected patients. Alarmingly, women with long COVID—particularly those also diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome—had significantly higher levels of antibodies that react with Peptide 2. These antibodies were found to also bind to testicular tissue in mouse models, indicating that they might interfere with normal spermatogenesis or other reproductive functions.
Peptide 2, notably, shares a key sequence with a protein critical for sperm development—testis-specific serine/threonine-protein kinase 1. This protein is essential for the later stages of sperm maturation. Meanwhile, Peptide 4 contains sequences tied to proteins necessary for female fertility, such as those involved in oogenesis and placenta formation.
Global Implications for Long-Term Fertility<
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One of the most troubling revelations from this study is the idea that these cross-reactive antibodies can persist for months or even years after infection. The researchers demonstrated that even one year after recovery, patients still had elevated levels of these autoantibodies. Women may be especially vulnerable due to the immune system’s lack of prior exposure to sperm-related proteins, potentially resulting in stronger and longer-lasting autoimmune responses.
The study also pointed out that such antibodies were completely absent in individuals who had not been infected but suffered from idiopathic chronic fatigue syndrome. This strongly supports the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 infection is uniquely responsible for triggering this harmful immune reaction.
The Bigger Picture
According to the study team, these findings serve as yet another reminder that the consequences of COVID-19 extend far beyond the lungs. They call for urgent global monitoring of reproductive health trends in COVID-19 survivors and deeper exploration into potential fertility impacts—especially as long COVID continues to affect millions worldwide.
While the study does not confirm that every infected person will experience fertility issues, it strongly indicates that SARS-CoV-2 infection has the potential to cause long-term immune system dysregulation that targets critical reproductive proteins.
Conclusion
The new evidence presented in this study reveals that SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in long COVID patients, can lead to the production of cross-reactive antibodies that mistakenly target proteins essential for human fertility. These autoantibodies were especially prevalent in women with long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome, and were also found to bind to testicular tissue in experimental models. Unlike natural infection, vaccination did not lead to the production of these harmful antibodies. These findings raise serious concerns about potential long-term declines in fertility in populations affected by COVID-19. The researchers emphasize that further studies are needed to explore the full scope of these effects and their implications for future generations.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Frontiers in Immunology.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1540341/full
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