Aberrant O-glycosylation of serum immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1) represents a heritable pathogenic defect in IgA nephropathy, the most common form of glomerulonephritis worldwide, but specific genetic factors involved in its determination are not known.
IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common primary glomerulonephritis characterized by human mesangial cells (HMC) proliferation and extracellular matrix expansion associated with immune deposits consisting of galactose-deficient IgA1.
This study reports the quantitative analysis of complement receptor (CR1) molecules on erythrocyte surface, the amount of immunoglobulin-containing material (IgG-IC and IgA1-IM) on the erythrocyte surface, and the concentrations of circulating immune complexes (IgG-CIC and IgA-CIC); also reported are the HLA phenotypes of 44 patients affected by various forms of glomerulonephritis (including 20 primary IgA nephropathy, 11 membranous glomerulonephritis, 9 lupus nephritis and 4 renal vasculitis).