Circulating IgG4 Anti-IgG Antibodies in Patients with Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy

Coexistence of different circulating anti-podocyte antibodies in membranous nephropathy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The discovery of different podocyte autoantibodies in membranous nephropathy (MN) raises questions about their pathogenetic and clinical meaning. This study sought to define antibody isotypes and correlations; to compare levels in MN, other glomerulonephritides, and controls; and to determine their association with clinical outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & ...

Idiopathic membranous nephropathy and anti-phospholipase A2 receptor antibodies.

Anti-PLA2R Antibodies in Chinese Patients with Membranous Nephropathy

BACKROUND ~This study used two standardized methods to evaluate anti-PLA2R antibody in serum of primary membranous nephropathy (PMN) among Chinese patients to determine  Anti-PLA2R antibody distribution and whether immunological reactivity reflected by antibody titer correlates with kidney function parameters. MATERIAL AND METHOD ~Overall, 82 subjects with biopsy-proven primary membranous nephr...

Idiopathic membranous nephropathy and IgG4: an interesting relationship

Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (iMN) is a single-organ autoimmune disease characterized by subepithelial deposition of immune complexes containing IgG4 resulting in proteinuria, nephrotic syndrome, and, in some, end-stage renal disease. The pathogenesis involves a chronic IgG4 response against specific podocyte antigens which have now been at least partially defined in the neonatal, early ch...

Glomerular IgG subclasses in idiopathic and malignancy-associated membranous nephropathy

BACKGROUND In idiopathic membranous nephropathy (MN), antibodies directed towards the glomerular phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) have mainly been reported to be of IgG4 subclass. However, the role of the different IgG subclasses in the pathogenesis of MN, both in idiopathic MN and in secondary cases, is still unclear. In this retrospective study, we test the hypothesis that the absence of glo...