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Chronic serum sickness glomerulonephritis: Heparin enhances the removal of glomerular antigen
Author(s) -
Furness Peter N.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/path.1711610310
Subject(s) - heparin , glomerulonephritis , medicine , antigen , serum sickness , immunology , kidney , antibody
Chronic serum sickness glomerulonephritis was induced in rats using 125 I‐labelled cationic bovine serum albumin as antigen. During the recovery period the animals were given protamine or polyethyleneimine (PEI), both of which are cationic, or heparin, which is anionic. A control group received saline. The cationic molecules were not shown to influence the rate of removal of antigen from the glomeruli, but heparin increased removal. In subsequent experiments this effect of heparin was confirmed, and a similar effect was demonstrated using low molecular weight heparin. These results indicate that large doses of heparin can enhance the removal of antigen from well‐established glomerular deposits. Fibrin is not detectable in the glomeruli in this model, so this effect of heparin may be independent of its anticoagulant properties.