title: Serum terminal complement component levels in hypocomplementemic glomerulonephritides.
abstract: Measurements of serum C3 through C9 are reported for patients with acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (AGN), membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis type I (MPGN I), MPGN II, and MPGN III. Except in MPGN II, depressed C5 levels correlated with depressed C3 levels. In MPGN II, levels of C5 and of other terminal components were normal. In MPGN III, markedly depressed levels of C7 through C9 correlated strongly with depressed levels of C3 and C5. C6 was less severely depressed. In MPGN I, terminal component levels were less often depressed than in MPGN III and in AGN, depression of terminal components was seen only when levels of C3 and C5 were extremely low. The data indicate that late terminal components are activated in MPGN III to a greater extent than in the other nephritides despite C5 activation approximately equal in extent to that in AGN and MPGN I.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229.
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Clardy
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Forristal
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Strife
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: West
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D003167:Complement Activation; D003176:Complement C3 / Q000378:metabolism; D003182:Complement C5 / Q000378:metabolism; D015938:Complement Membrane Attack Complex; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000172:deficiency*; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D015432:Glomerulonephritis, Membranoproliferative / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D003176:Complement C3; D003182:Complement C5; D015938:Complement Membrane Attack Complex; D003165:Complement System Proteins