 coronavirus disease 2019 COVID-19 has been associated with significant renal dysfunction including acute kidney injury aka renal tubular injury is thought to be the primary cause of aka in COVID-19 but other mechanisms such as direct viral invasion cytokine storm and genetic factors may also play a role cytokine storm is believed to be responsible for the majority of cases of severe renal injury in patients of African descent genetically susceptible populations such as those with APOL-1 variants appear to be at higher risk of developing more severe forms of renal injury this article was authored by Ayah Pazesci, Muhammad Mubarak, Arjan Jamali and others