Correlation between the severity of clinicopathological parameters and whole blood interferon-alpha production capacity in active phase IgA nephropathy patients.
OBJECTIVE
Patients with IgA nephropathy (IgA-N) are thought to have immune system disorders that frequently result in high serum IgA levels and a relatively high susceptibility to upper respiratory infections.


OBJECTIVE
To clarify the influence of the specific immune response of IgA-N patients on the clinicopathological features of the disease, we measured the whole-blood-producing capacity of interferon-alpha (IFNalpha-PC). We then compared these findings with clinical and histopathological parameters, including tissue macrophage infiltration, during both histologically active and latent phases.


METHODS
Fifty-one inpatients with IgA-N and 70 healthy controls were examined. According to the histological findings, 32 patients had disease in the active phase (AP), and 19 were in the latent phase (LP).


RESULTS
In AP patients, IFNalpha-PC showed positive correlations to serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, serum beta2-microglobulin (s-beta2MG), urinary total protein (U-TP), and urinary beta2MG, in addition to the number of infiltrated macrophages per area of interstitium. In LP patients, negative correlations were shown between IFNalpha-PC and s-beta2MG, U-TP, and U-N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase.


CONCLUSIONS
A significant positive relationship exists between IFNalpha-PC and the clinicopathological parameters of deteriorated renal lesions in the AP but not in the LP. Thus, the immune status influencing the functional damage may differ between these two phase.
Shirakawa
Kiichi
K
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto Japan.
Muso
Eri
E
Nogaki
Fumiaki
F
Maeda
Mari
M
Kawamura
Takahide
T
Ono
Takahiko
T
Yoshimoto
Miwa
M
Uno
Kazuko
K
Kishida
Tsunatarou
T
Sasayama
Shigetake
S
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005922:Glomerulonephritis, IGA / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013223:Statistics as Topic
D016898:Interferon-alpha