title: Decreased expression of follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein correlates with increased immunoglobulin A production in the tonsils of individuals with immunoglobulin A nephropathy.
abstract: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is characterized by a qualitative abnormality of IgA in the circulation and IgA deposition in the renal mesangium. Recent research has indicated that pathogenic IgA may originate from affected tonsils. Follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein (FDC-SP), a small novel secretory protein that may regulate the induction of B-cell responses, has been suggested to control IgA production. Given this background, this study investigated the expression of FDC-SP and its correlation with IgA production in the tonsils of IgAN patients. Immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were used to compare the expression of FDC-SP in the tonsils of IgAN patients with tonsillitis and of non-IgAN patients with chronic tonsillitis. The location of FDC-SP in tonsillar tissue was confirmed by double immunofluorescence. We found that FDC-SP expression significantly decreased and was correlated negatively with enhanced IgA production in the tonsils of IgAN patients. FDC-SP secreted by follicular dendritic cells may act on germinal center B cells and participate in the modulation of IgA generation in the tonsils. Our study demonstrated that FDC-SP may be involved in IgA production in the tonsils of IgAN patients, making this protein an attractive candidate immunomodulator, and highlighting a promising strategy for therapeutic intervention in IgAN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, People's Republic of China; Department of Pathological Diagnostics, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan. Electronic address: menghongxue15@163.com.
authors.forename: Hong-Xue
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hei Longjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hui-Ning
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jia-Shi
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathological Diagnostics, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan.
authors.forename: Rintaro
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ohe
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Yu
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Qiang
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: E
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathological Diagnostics, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan.
authors.forename: Su-Ran
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathological Diagnostics, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan.
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kakehata
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing-Shu
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathological Diagnostics, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan. Electronic address: k-moh@med.id.yamagata-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Mitsunori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamakawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005922:Glomerulonephritis, IGA / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013194:Staining and Labeling
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; C465580:FDCSP protein, human; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger