tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Kidney360
. 2021 Apr 14;2(6):924-936.
doi: 10.34067/KID.0002172021. eCollection 2021 Jun 24.
Evidence for SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein in the Urine of COVID-19 Patients
Santosh George[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anasuya Chattopadhyay Pal[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jacqueline Gagnon[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Sushma Timalsina[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Pallavi Singh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Pratap Vydyam[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Muhammad Munshi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Joy E Chiu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Isaline Renard[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Christina A Harden[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Isabel M Ott[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Anne E Watkins[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Chantal B F Vogels[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Peiwen Lu[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Maria Tokuyama[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Arvind Venkataraman[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Arnau Casanovas-Massana[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Anne L Wyllie[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Veena Rao[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Melissa Campbell[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Shelli F Farhadian[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Nathan D Grubaugh[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Charles S Dela Cruz[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Albert I Ko[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Amalia Z Berna Perez[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Elikplim H Akaho[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Dennis G Moledina[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Jeffrey Testani[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Audrey R John[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Michel Ledizet[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Choukri Ben Mamoun[SUP] 1 [/SUP], and the Yale IMPACT Team
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection has, as of April 2021, affected >133 million people worldwide, causing >2.5 million deaths. Because the large majority of individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 are asymptomatic, major concerns have been raised about possible long-term consequences of the infection.
Methods: Wedeveloped an antigen capture assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in urine samples from patients with COVID-19whose diagnosis was confirmed by positive PCR results from nasopharyngeal swabs (NP-PCR+) forSARS-CoV-2. We used a collection of 233 urine samples from 132 participants from Yale New Haven Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that were obtained during the pandemic (106 NP-PCR+ and 26 NP-PCR-), and a collection of 20 urine samples from 20 individuals collected before the pandemic.
Results: Our analysis identified 23 out of 91 (25%) NP-PCR+ adult participants with SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 protein in urine (Ur-S+). Interestingly, although all NP-PCR+ children were Ur-S-, one child who was NP-PCR- was found to be positive for spike protein in their urine. Of the 23 adults who were Ur-S+, only one individual showed detectable viral RNA in urine. Our analysis further showed that 24% and 21% of adults who were NP-PCR+ had high levels of albumin and cystatin C, respectively, in their urine. Among individuals with albuminuria (>0.3 mg/mg of creatinine), statistical correlation could be found between albumin and spike protein in urine.
Conclusions: Together, our data showed that one of four individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop renal abnormalities, such as albuminuria. Awareness about the long-term effect of these findings is warranted.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; acute kidney injury and ICU nephrology; body fluids; coronavirus; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; spike glycoprotein; spike protein; viral envelope proteins.
. 2021 Apr 14;2(6):924-936.
doi: 10.34067/KID.0002172021. eCollection 2021 Jun 24.
Evidence for SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein in the Urine of COVID-19 Patients
Santosh George[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anasuya Chattopadhyay Pal[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jacqueline Gagnon[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Sushma Timalsina[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Pallavi Singh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Pratap Vydyam[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Muhammad Munshi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Joy E Chiu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Isaline Renard[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Christina A Harden[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Isabel M Ott[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Anne E Watkins[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Chantal B F Vogels[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Peiwen Lu[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Maria Tokuyama[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Arvind Venkataraman[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Arnau Casanovas-Massana[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Anne L Wyllie[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Veena Rao[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Melissa Campbell[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Shelli F Farhadian[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Nathan D Grubaugh[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Charles S Dela Cruz[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Albert I Ko[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Amalia Z Berna Perez[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Elikplim H Akaho[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Dennis G Moledina[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Jeffrey Testani[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Audrey R John[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Michel Ledizet[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Choukri Ben Mamoun[SUP] 1 [/SUP], and the Yale IMPACT Team
Affiliations
- PMID: 35373072
- PMCID: PMC8791366
- DOI: 10.34067/KID.0002172021
Abstract
Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection has, as of April 2021, affected >133 million people worldwide, causing >2.5 million deaths. Because the large majority of individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 are asymptomatic, major concerns have been raised about possible long-term consequences of the infection.
Methods: Wedeveloped an antigen capture assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in urine samples from patients with COVID-19whose diagnosis was confirmed by positive PCR results from nasopharyngeal swabs (NP-PCR+) forSARS-CoV-2. We used a collection of 233 urine samples from 132 participants from Yale New Haven Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that were obtained during the pandemic (106 NP-PCR+ and 26 NP-PCR-), and a collection of 20 urine samples from 20 individuals collected before the pandemic.
Results: Our analysis identified 23 out of 91 (25%) NP-PCR+ adult participants with SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 protein in urine (Ur-S+). Interestingly, although all NP-PCR+ children were Ur-S-, one child who was NP-PCR- was found to be positive for spike protein in their urine. Of the 23 adults who were Ur-S+, only one individual showed detectable viral RNA in urine. Our analysis further showed that 24% and 21% of adults who were NP-PCR+ had high levels of albumin and cystatin C, respectively, in their urine. Among individuals with albuminuria (>0.3 mg/mg of creatinine), statistical correlation could be found between albumin and spike protein in urine.
Conclusions: Together, our data showed that one of four individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop renal abnormalities, such as albuminuria. Awareness about the long-term effect of these findings is warranted.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; acute kidney injury and ICU nephrology; body fluids; coronavirus; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; spike glycoprotein; spike protein; viral envelope proteins.