December 23, 2021
Image
In this work, we show that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect kidney glomerular podocytes through multiple receptors, including ACE2 and BSG/CD147, and cause cellular changes associated with podocytopathies such as collapsing glomerulopathy observed in patients with severe COVID-19 disease. This disease model is potentially useful for kidney-specific antiviral drug screening and mechanistic studies of COVID-19 organotropism.
Congratulations to postdoctoral fellow and first author, Dr. Titilola Kalejaiye! Many thanks to our DHVI collaborator Dr. Maria Blasi!