title: Analysis of viral infection in patients with IgA nephropathy.
abstract: We investigated viral infections in the tonsils, pharynx and renal tissues of patients with IgA nephropathy using cell culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immuno-fluorescent techniques, and measured antibody titers against numerous types of viruses. Neutralization tests found no significant inhibition of growth of adenovirus-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 or 19, Coxsackie virus-A7, A9, A16, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 or B6, or RS virus. Swabs of the oral cavity of patients with IgA nephropathy were cultured with Hel cells, MDCK cells, FL cells, BHK-21 cells and RD-18S cells. No cytopathic effect was detected in any of these cell cultures. We failed to detect the presence of herpes simplex virus-1 and -2, varicella-zoster virus, cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-1 and -2 in tonsils, renal tissues and mouthwashings from patients with IgA nephropathy. On the other hand, EBV alone was detected with the PCR technique, in mouthwashings from 6 out of 14 patients with IgA nephropathy (42%). Immunohistological and serological analyses were done to examine the relationship between EBV and IgA nephropathy. No evidence was obtained that EBV-infected B lymphocytes were producing IgA. It seems unlikely that the viral infections examined in this study play a significant role in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Wakayama Medical College, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kunimoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mune
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Takano
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akagi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Samukawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005922:Glomerulonephritis, IGA / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000382:microbiology*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral