Zika virus infection and implications for kidney disease

High-level and persistent viruria observed in patients infected by Zika virus (ZIKV) has been well documented. However, renal pathology in acutely infected, immunocompetent patients remains subclinical. Moreover, the long-term impact of ZIKV infection, replication, and persistence in the renal compartment of adults and infants as well as immunosuppressed patients and solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients is unknown. Mechanisms involving host and viral factors that limit or control ZIKV pathogenesis in the renal compartment are important yet unexplored. The observation that long-term viral shedding occurs in the renal compartment in the absence of clinical disease requires further investigation. In this review, I explore Zika virus-induced renal pathology in animal models, the dynamics of virus shedding in urine, virus replication in glomerular cells, ZIKV infection in human renal transplantation, and the potential impact of long-term persistent ZIKV infection in the renal compartment.