The distribution and significance of renal infiltrating cells in patients with diffuse crescentic glomerulonephritis.
OBJECTIVE
To study the significance and distribution of renal infiltrating cells, including monocytes (CD68+ cells), proliferative cell nuclear antigen positive cells (PCNA+ cells), CD4+ and CD8+ cells in diffuse crescent glomerulonephritis (DCGN).


METHODS
Fifty-six patients with DCGN were studied, including 10 cases of anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM)--type I DCGN, 26 immune complex--type II DCGN, and 20 cases of pauci-immune--type III DCGN. Glomerular and interstitial infiltrates of CD68+ and PCNA+ cells, and interstitial infiltrates of CD4+ and CD8+ cells were detected by using four-layer PAP methods.


RESULTS
There was a significant increase of renal infiltrating CD68+, PCNA+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells in patients with DCGN compared with that in normal controls. In patients with type I DCGN, there was a higher number of renal infiltrating CD68+ and PCNA+ cells than that in patients with type II and III DCGN. A glomerular infiltrates of CD68+ and PCNA+ cells correlated with the interstitial infiltrates of CD4+ cells in type I or III DCGN patients. In lupus DCGN patients, the numbers of renal infiltrating CD68+ and PCNA+ cells were similar to vasculitis or type III DCGN patients.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings demonstrate that the renal infiltrates of CD68+ and PCNA+ cells play an important role in patients with DCGN, that the infiltrates of CD4+ cells correlate with the infiltrates of CD68+ and PCNA+ cells may be an active marker of DCGN, and that cell-mediated immunity may contribute to crescent formation in lupus DCGN patients.
Tang
Z
Z
Department of Nephrology, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing 210002, China.
Wu
Y
Y
Hu
W
W
Yao
X
X
Zhou
H
H
Chen
H
H
Liu
Z
Z
Li
L
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000032:analysis; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic / Q000032:analysis; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D000097382:CD68 Molecule
D015703:Antigens, CD; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; C067980:CD68 antigen, human; D000097382:CD68 Molecule