SARS-CoV-2 Causes Acute Kidney Injury by Directly Infecting Renal Tubules.

ABSTRACT: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most prevalent complications among hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Here, we aim to investigate the causes, risk factors, and outcomes of AKI in COVID-19 patients. We found that angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) were mainly expressed by different cell types in the human kidney. However, in autopsy kidney samples, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleoprotein was detected in ACE2⁺ or TMPRSS2⁺ renal tubular cells, whereas the RNAscope^® Assay targeting the SARS-CoV-2 Spike gene was positive mainly in the distal tubular cells and seldom in the proximal tubular cells. In addition, the TMPRSS2 and kidney injury marker

SUBMITTER: Chen Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8201778 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature