Open AccessEvidence for SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein in the Urine of COVID-19 Patients
Author(s) -
Santosh George,
Anasuya Pal,
Jocelyn Gag,
Sushma Timalsina,
Pallavi Singh,
Pratap Vydyam,
Muhammad Munshi,
Joy E. Chiu,
Isaline Renard,
Christina A. Harden,
Isabel M. Ott,
Anne E. Watkins,
Chantal B.F. Vogels,
Peiwen Lu,
Maria Tokuyama,
Arvind Venkataraman,
Arnau CasanovasMassana,
Anne L. Wyllie,
Veena S. Rao,
Melissa Campbell,
Shelli Farhadian,
Nathan D. Grubaugh,
Charles S. Dela Cruz,
Albert I. Ko,
Amalia Z. Berna,
Elikplim Akaho,
Dennis G. Moledina,
Jeffrey M. Testani,
Audrey Odom John,
Michel Ledizet,
Choukri Ben Mamoun
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
kidney360
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2641-7650
DOI - 10.34067/kid.0002172021
Subject(s) - urine , medicine , asymptomatic , cystatin c , spike protein , coronavirus , virology , creatinine , covid-19 , albuminuria , kidney , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background SARS-CoV-2 infection has, as of April 2021, affected >133 million people worldwide, causing >2.5 million deaths. Because the large majority of individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 are asymptomatic, major concerns have been raised about possible long-term consequences of the infection. Methods We developed an antigen capture assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in urine samples from patients with COVID-19whose diagnosis was confirmed by positive PCR results from nasopharyngeal swabs (NP-PCR+) forSARS-CoV-2. We used a collection of 233 urine samples from 132 participants from Yale New Haven Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia that were obtained during the pandemic (106 NP-PCR+ and 26 NP-PCR−), and a collection of 20 urine samples from 20 individuals collected before the pandemic. Results Our analysis identified 23 out of 91 (25%) NP-PCR+ adult participants with SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 protein in urine (Ur-S+). Interestingly, although all NP-PCR+ children were Ur-S−, one child who was NP-PCR− was found to be positive for spike protein in their urine. Of the 23 adults who were Ur-S+, only one individual showed detectable viral RNA in urine. Our analysis further showed that 24% and 21% of adults who were NP-PCR+ had high levels of albumin and cystatin C, respectively, in their urine. Among individuals with albuminuria (>0.3 mg/mg of creatinine), statistical correlation could be found between albumin and spike protein in urine. Conclusions Together, our data showed that one of four individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop renal abnormalities, such as albuminuria. Awareness about the long-term effect of these findings is warranted.