Open AccessIs the kidney a target of SARS-CoV-2?
Author(s) -
Miguel Ángel MartínezRojas,
Olynka Vega-Vega,
Norma A. Bobadilla
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
american journal of physiology. renal physiology./american journal of physiology. renal physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1931-857X
pISSN - 1522-1466
DOI - 10.1152/ajprenal.00160.2020
Subject(s) - subclinical infection , coronavirus , acute kidney injury , immunology , covid-19 , medicine , pathophysiology , kidney , disease , biology , virology , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
The new disease produced by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) represents a major pandemic event nowadays. Since its origin in China in December 2019, there is compelling evidence that novel SARS-CoV-2 is a highly transmissible virus, and it is associated to a broad clinical spectrum going from subclinical presentation to severe respiratory distress and multiorgan failure. Like other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 recognizes human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as a cellular receptor that allows it to infect different host cells and likely disrupts renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system homeostasis. Particularly, a considerable incidence of many renal abnormalities associated to COVID-19 has been reported, including proteinuria, hematuria, and acute kidney injury. Moreover, it has been recently demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 can infect podocytes and tubular epithelial cells, which could contribute to the development of the aforementioned renal abnormalities. In this review, we discuss the biological aspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection, how understanding current knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 infection may partly explain the involvement of the kidneys in the pathophysiology of COVID-19, and what questions have arisen and remain to be explored.