On my last flight I was searching for a seat and a kind woman who appeared to recognize me, smiled at an open seat next to her. I sat down and learned she is married to a prominent government official with whom she was traveling. As we talked she told me her story of taking one of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and then developing membranous nephropathy.
This is a disorder caused by auto-antibodies directed against the phospholipase A2 receptor on podocytes, which are critical cells in the kidney’s filtration apparatus. Membranous nephropathy like so many side effects is due to the Spike protein and can occur with SARS-CoV-2 infection and with vaccination.
