Kidney injury following JN.1; a mini-review on current evidence

The SARS-CoV-2 JN.1 variant, a descendant of the Omicron BA.2.86 lineage, emerged as a globally dominant COVID-19 strain by early 2024. This virus characterized by heightened transmissibility and immune evasion, which represents as an evolution in the virus’s ability to adapt across with maintaining lower severity versus earlier variants. Since direct evidence on JN.1 and renal involvement is lacking, the variant is expected to cause kidney injury through the well-characterized SARS-CoV-2 mechanisms of direct renal infection and systemic inflammatory damage observed in COVID-19 patients in general.