SARS-CoV-2 can infect kidneys directly, researchers find

Up to 25 percent of patients' COVID-19 cases involve acute kidney injury—the kidneys' equivalent of a heart attack. Clinicians have suspected that such injuries are a side effect of the immune system's sudden release of inflammatory proteins, cytokines, to battle the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The "cytokine storms" are known to damage tissues and organs.

source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-sars-cov-infect-kidneys.html