Glomerular basement membrane thickness in an Asian population using a novel image analysis software.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to develop an image analysis software that enabled measurement of glomerular basement membrane (GBM) thickness.


METHODS
With this software, we evaluated the range of GBM widths found in a cohort of Asian patients diagnosed with a spectrum of renal diseases including minimal change/IgM nephropathy, focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis, IgA nephropathy, systemic lupus erythematosus nephritis, diabetic nephropathy, pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis, thin basement membrane disease, and tubulointerstitial nephritis. Measurements were taken from a minimum of five glomerular capillary loops of each glomerulus. For each loop, at least 10 different points of the GBM were measured.


RESULTS
The average GBM width measured for minimal change disease was 347.4 +/- 9.0 nm, with the highest value being 403.9 nm and lowest being 214.7 nm. No association was found between GBM width and gender. We found a significant increase in GBM width in pathological states like lupus nephropathy (p < 0.0001), diabetic nephritis (p < 0.001) and tubulointerstitial nephritis (p < 0.01) as compared with minimal change disease. Only one case of thin membrane nephropathy (198.7 nm) was available for analysis and we found a significant thinning of the GBM.


CONCLUSIONS
These observations provide insights into the range of GBM thickness in several disease states and support the use of this novel software in the daily diagnostic laboratory setting.
Teng
Yvonne Hui-Fang
YH
Department of Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
Ang
Haw-Siang
HS
Mao
Ke-Zhi
KZ
Lui
Jia-Yan
JY
Lin
Jie-Yan
JY
Yue
Lai-Ling
LL
Loh
Hwai-Liang
HL
Chiang
Gilbert
G
Yip
George Wai-Cheong
GW
Tan
Puay-Hoon
PH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D050533:Glomerular Basement Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008875:Middle Aged; D012984:Software; D055815:Young Adult