Autoantibodies in Human Glomerulonephritis and Nephrotic Syndrome

Sera from a group of children with glomerulonephritis or the nephrotic syndrome in various stages of activity have been tested for the presence of antikidney antibodies. Boyden's hemagglutination (HA) test was used with human kidney digest as the antigen. Antikidney HA titers of 1:20 or higher were shown in 71% of the patients with acute nephritis and 89% of the patients in the active phase of the nephrotic syndrome. The test was negative in controls and patients with renal disease due to other causes. Positive results were also obtained in some children with nonrenal acute infectious disease and in cases of rheumatic fever, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus erythematosus. The antikidney HA test appeared to be species specific but not clearly disease specific. Some cross reaction with human tissues other than kidney was also observed.