Recurrent membranous nephropathy in an allograft caused by IgG3κ targeting the PLA2 receptor.

ABSTRACT: Up to 80% of patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy have non-complement-fixing IgG4 autoantibodies to the phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R). Membranous nephropathy recurs in approximately 40% of patients after kidney transplantation, but the mechanism is unknown. Here, we describe a patient with recurrent membranous nephropathy 13 days after kidney transplantation whose graft biopsy specimen showed granular staining for C3, C5b-9, C1q, and IgG3κ; electron microscopy revealed subepithelial nonorganized deposits. A search for hematologic disorders was negative. Retrospective evaluation of a biopsy sample from the native kidney revealed a similar pattern: monotypic IgG3κ deposits together with C3, C1q, and C5b-9. Glomerular deposits contained PLA2R in both the graft and the native ki

SUBMITTER: Debiec H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3507371 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature