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Review
. 2021 Jul 28:27:e20200154.
doi: 10.1590/1678-9199-JVATITD-2020-0154. eCollection 2021.

Inflammation and kidney involvement in human viral diseases caused by SARS-CoV-2, HIV, HCV and HBV

Gustavo Ferreira da Mata  1 , Danilo Euclides Fernandes  1 , Eduardo de Paiva Luciano  1 , Gabriel Teixeira Montezuma Sales  1 , Michelle Tiveron Passos Riguetti  1 , Gianna Mastroianni Kirsztajn  1
Affiliations
Review

Inflammation and kidney involvement in human viral diseases caused by SARS-CoV-2, HIV, HCV and HBV

Gustavo Ferreira da Mata et al. J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. .

Abstract

Inflammation is closely related to renal diseases. This is particularly true for renal diseases caused by infections as in viral diseases. In this review, we highlight the inflammatory mechanisms that underlie kidney dysfunction in SARS-CoV-2, human immunodeficiency (HIV), hepatitis C (HCV), and hepatitis B (HBV) infections. The pathophysiology of renal involvement in COVID-19 is complex, but kidney damage is frequent, and the prognosis is worse when it happens. Virus-like particles were demonstrated mostly in renal tubular epithelial cells and podocytes, which suggest that SARS-CoV-2 directly affects the kidneys. SARS-CoV-2 uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor, which is found in endothelial cells, to infect the human host cells. Critical patients with SARS-CoV-2-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) show an increase in inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-8, IFN-γ, TNF-α), known as cytokine storm that favors renal dysfunction by causing intrarenal inflammation, increased vascular permeability, volume depletion, thromboembolic events in microvasculature and persistent local inflammation. Besides AKI, SARS-CoV-2 can also cause glomerular disease, as other viral infections such as in HIV, HBV and HCV. HIV-infected patients present chronic inflammation that can lead to a number of renal diseases. Proinflammatory cytokines and TNF-induced apoptosis are some of the underlying mechanisms that may explain the virus-induced renal diseases that are here reviewed.

Keywords: COVID-19; Glomerulonephritis; HIV; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis C; Inflammasome; SARS-COV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Article selection flow chart. HIV: human immune deficiency virus; HBV: hepatitis B virus; HCV: hepatitis C virus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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