Induction of progressive nephropathy in rats by eluted gamma-globulin and Freund's adjuvant.

IT has been suggested that anti-basement membrane (BM) antibody is responsible for the development of the pulmonary and the renal lesions in Goodpasture's syndrome (Sturgill and Westervelt, 1965; Beirne, et al, 1968; Willoughby and Dixon, 1970). It is a controversial issue whether this anti-BM antibody is formed by the release of glomerular or alveolar BM antigen. Experimental models resembling Goodpasture's syndrome have been produced in animals by the injections of anti-lung antiserum (Hogadorn et al, 1969; Willoughby and Dixon, 1970). It has also been reported that heterologous non-organ specific antigenv (lung homogenate) can initiate an auto-immune type of glomerulonephritis (Stebley and Rudofsky, 1968). The pathogenic role of the anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibodies in the production of glomerular lesion in Goodpasture's has also been demonstrated by a successful transfer of acute glomerulonephritis to monkeys by the intravenous injection of eluted y-globulin from patients with Goodpasture's syndrome (Lerner et al, 1967; Lerner and Dixon, 1968b). Poskitt (1970) demonstrated thd presence of y-globulin in the GBM of mice 24 hours after the injectio'n of a similarly eluted y-globulin but he failed to produce a progressive glomerular lesion. Nagi et al (1971) induced progressive glomerular and pulmonary lesions in rats which were made proteinuric prior toi the intravenous administration of eluted y-globulin from a case of Goodpasture's syndrome .They concluded that serum sickness plays an important part by allowing the injected y-globulin to come in contact with some component of the GBM. The present experiment describes an attempt to induce progressive glomerulonephritis in Wistar rats by intraperitoneal injections of Freund's complete adjuvant and eluted y-globulin from the kidney of a case of Goodpasture's syndrome .