A new study by the researchers of Mayo Clinic has found that acute kidney injury related to COVID-19 resembles sepsis-caused kidney injury.
The study, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, has also found that the immune response triggered by the infection plays a key role. It also suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction (loss of function in cellular energy production) is commonly found in COVID-related kidney injury.
Previous studies have shown that over one-third of hospitalized COVID-19 patients have acute kidney injury. And sudden kidney failure is one of the risk factors for in-hospital death.
Lead author of the Mayo Clinic study Dr. Mariam Alexander said, “These findings suggest that COVID-19 can induce a robust immune response in patients that contributes to the kidney injury, and kidney-supportive treatments should be initiated early for these patients.”
“Our data point to mitochondrial injury as a potential target for therapies, some of which recently have been developed and tested in preclinical models,” she added.
COVID-19 is often associated with a systemic inflammatory response and inflammation in the heart and lungs, but little research is known about the immune response in the kidneys.
Dr. Alexander said, “To our knowledge, this is the first in-depth study investigating the molecular and cellular changes seen in COVID-19-related kidney injury.”
The researchers looked at the morphological and molecular profile of severe COVID-19 renal injury and found it resembles sepsis renal injury, including microvascular dysfunction, inflammation, and metabolic reprogramming, according to Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Alexander explained, “The acute kidney injury seen in COVID-19 is likely secondary to activation of the immune system, similar to what is observed in patients with sepsis. COVID-19 kidneys are inflamed and show an increased rate of cell death and notably more mitochondrial injury, compared to kidneys with injury not related to COVID-19.”
Senior author Dr. Timucin Taner said, “The complex integrated imaging and molecular tests used in this study pave the way to perform similar molecular analyses in different disease conditions to study immune-mediated renal injuries in both native and transplant settings.”
“We currently have several projects using this approach, with the goal being to identify the underlying mechanisms of different diseases,” he added, “so we can help physicians treat these conditions more effectively.” The article was published on Mayo Clinic News Network.
