title: Correlation between the severity of clinicopathological parameters and whole blood interferon-alpha production capacity in active phase IgA nephropathy patients.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto Japan.
authors.forename: Kiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shirakawa
authors.forename: Eri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Muso
authors.forename: Fumiaki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nogaki
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Takahide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.forename: Takahiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Miwa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshimoto
authors.forename: Kazuko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uno
authors.forename: Tsunatarou
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kishida
authors.forename: Shigetake
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasayama
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha