The complement system is an essential part of innate immunity by its role in protection against infections, but it is also involved in waste disposal and in modulating the adaptive immune response. Under physiological conditions complement activation is effectively regulated to restrain it to the required targets and extent, and to prevent collateral host tissue damage. An imbalance between com...

Antibodies to nuclear ribonucleoprotein (nRNP), Sm, SS-A, and SS-B, were studied by a quantitative immunodiffusion technique in 48 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). There was no correlation between the presence or titre of antibodies to any of these antigens and clinically apparent renal disease. However, among 34 patients who had renal biopsies antibodies to nRNP, Sm, and/or SS...

The term Pulmonary-renal syndrome refers to the combination of diffuse alveolar haemorrhage and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. A variety of mechanisms such as those involving antiglomerular basement membrane antibodies, antineutrophil cytoplasm antibodies or immunocomplexes and thrombotic microangiopathy are implicated in the pathogenesis of this syndrome. The underlying pulmonary path...

Little is known about the pathogenic mechanisms of IgA nephropathy, despite being the most prevalent form of glomerulonephritis in humans. We report in this study that in (New Zealand White (NZW) x C57BL/6)F(1) mice predisposed to autoimmune diseases, the expression of a human bcl-2 (hbcl-2) transgene in B cells promotes a CD4-dependent lupus-like syndrome characterized by IgG and IgA hypergamm...

BACKGROUND Recently we showed that antinuclear autoantibodies complexed to nucleosomes can bind to heparan sulphate (HS) in the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) via the histone part of the nucleosome. Histones have been identified in glomerular deposits in human and murine lupus nephritis. In addition, a decreased HS staining in the GBM was found, most probably due to masking by deposition of...

Sle1 and Sle3 are 2 loci that confer susceptibility to lupus nephritis in the NZM2410 strain of mice. Our previous work has shown that B6.NZMc1 mice, congenic for Sle1, exhibit loss of tolerance to chromatin but do not develop any pathogenic autoantibodies or disease. B6.NZMc7 mice, congenic for Sle3, exhibit low-grade polyclonal B- and T-cell activation, elevated CD4/CD8 ratios, and mildly pen...

Genetic predisposition and environmental factors influence the development of human autoimmune disease. Occupational exposure to crystalline silica (cSiO2) has been etiologically linked to increased incidence of autoimmunity, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that early repeated...

Membranous nephropathy (MN) may be a primary disease or secondary to autoimmune conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus, infection (for example, with hepatitis B or C virus), cancer or drugs. In primary MN, crescents are rarely observed. Therefore, the presence of crescents suggests another underlying disease, for example lupus nephritis, anti-glomerular basement membrane disease or ant...

BACKGROUND Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 plays an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation. However, the mechanism of STAT3 activation in human glomerulonephritis is unclear. METHODS STAT3 activation was determined using immunohistochemistry for phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) in normal human kidney and various types of glomerulonephritis. We also iden...

Background Chronic kidney disease has become a leading public health concern in China, as it is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and costs. However, the overall situation regarding common glomerular diseases in China remains unclear. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the national profile of the common types of glomerulonephritis in China. Methods We searched Medline, E...