Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education: 

Coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) has spread around the world and caused significantly pandemic mobility and mortality. Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) usually infects lungs first and involves other organs including kidneys subsequently. Acute kidney injury and proteinuria in patients with COVID19 are resulted from the direct infection of the spikycrowned viruses to proximal tubules and podocytes, leading to acute tubular injury and collapsing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Therefore treatment strategy should target against the direct infection of SARS-CoV2 to the renal tissue.

Please cite this paper as: Yin W, Zhang PL. Infectious pathways of SARS-CoV-2 in renal tissue. J Nephropathol. 2020;9(4):e37. DOI: 10.34172/jnp.2020.37.