LAUSR

PURPOSE At present, there are no comparative studies about the three coronaviruses infection on the damage of the urinary system. Therefore, we reviewed the correlations and differences between invading mechanisms and resultant urogenital system damages by three kinds of coronaviruses mentioned above, expecting to help doctors preventing and treating the damages in the urogenital system which is of significance in improving prognosis and quality of life after rehabilitation. MATERIALS AND METHODS We searched PubMed for English language articles published since 2003 with the key words "Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)," "severe acute respiratory syndrome-2 (SARS-CoV-2)," "severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV" and "Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV"with "semen" and "kidney" We also used relevant data from websites including the World Health organization and Centers for disease control and prevention. RESULTS Recent studies have revealed that both SARS CoV and SARS-CoV-2 invade target cells through a membrane-bound angiotensin-convert enzyme 2 (ACE2), an important component of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) which maintains human homeostasis, whereas MERS utilizes host cells' receptor dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) for entry. While pneumonia is the most prominent symptom in patients infected by coronaviruses due to their transmission through respiratory droplets, urogenital system can also suffer from the infection of coronaviruses, resulting renal failure and testicular atrophy and etc. The impairments of three coronavirus infection with genitourinary system would be different, but they still have a strong correlation. CONCLUSIONS The pathogenesis and clinical symptoms of SARS-COV, MERS-COV and SARS-COV-2 coronaviruses in the genitourinary system were comparable. All three coronaviruses have been found to affect kidney and testicular function. Therefore, both urologists and nephrologists should pay attention to the damage of coronavirus infection to the genitourinary system, especially monitoring of renal and semen function.