Cell Stem Cell: How New Coronavirus Infection Causes Kidney Damage

Researchers from the Aachen University of Technology in Germany and the Medical Center of Nejmegen University in the Netherlands have recently discovered that the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 can infect the kidneys and cause tissue scarring
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In the long term, the scar tissue formed in the infected kidney may affect the kidney

As we all know, the new coronavirus can cause serious harm to the human body, and the kidneys can also be infected
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But what happens to the kidneys after infection is still unclear

They found that compared with intensive care patients with non-COVID-19 lung infections and controls, the kidney tissue of COVID-19 patients was scarred
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However, they are not sure what the exact cause of kidney damage is

To study this, the researchers cultivated mini-kidneys, called organoids, in the laboratory

Consistent with the tissues of COVID-19 patients, the researchers found scarring of kidney organoids and accompanying signals that lead to scarring
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Single-cell RNA sequencing showed that the damage and dedifferentiation of infected cells are related to the activation of pro-fibrosis signaling pathways

The results of this study indicate that another large-scale cohort study in the United States recently found that the decline in renal function of more than 90,000 COVID-19 survivors (Bowe et al JASN) may be due to the direct impact of the SARS-CoV2 virus on the kidneys
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Researcher Jitske Jansen from Nijmegen University said: “In this study, we thoroughly investigated the causal damage effect of the new coronavirus on the kidney
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The infected kidney organoids showed that the virus directly causes cell damage and does not rely on immunity.

Katharina Reimer of RWTH Aachen University believes: “Kidney fibrosis or scarring is a serious long-term consequence that occurs almost after any kidney injury and is related to kidney function

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SARS-CoV-2 infects the human kidney and drives fibrosis in kidney organoids

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