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MALDI–MSI Pilot Study Highlights Glomerular Deposits of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor as a Possible Indicator of Response to Therapy in Membranous Nephropathy
Author(s) -
L'Imperio Vincenzo,
Smith Andrew,
Ajello Elena,
Piga Isabella,
Stella Martina,
Denti Vanna,
Tettamanti Silvia,
Sinico Renato Alberto,
Pieruzzi Federico,
Garozzo Maurizio,
Vischini Gisella,
Nebuloni Manuela,
Pagni Fabio,
Magni Fulvio
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
proteomics – clinical applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.948
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1862-8354
pISSN - 1862-8346
DOI - 10.1002/prca.201800019
Subject(s) - macrophage migration inhibitory factor , medicine , nephrotic syndrome , biomarker , membranous nephropathy , pathogenesis , disease , regimen , minimal change disease , oncology , glomerulonephritis , immunology , gastroenterology , focal segmental glomerulosclerosis , cytokine , kidney , biology , biochemistry
Purpose Membranous nephropathy (MN) is the most frequent cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults and the disease course is characterized by the “rule of third”, with one‐third of patients experiencing complete remission and the remaining experiencing relapses or progression of the disease. Additionally, the therapeutic approach is not standardized, leading to further heterogeneity in terms of response and outcome. Experimental design In this pilot study, MALDI–MSI analysis is performed on renal biopsies ( n = 13) obtained from two homogeneous groups of patients, which differentially responded to the immunosuppressive treatments (Ponticelli regimen). Results A signal at m/z 1303 displays the greatest discriminatory power when comparing the two groups and is observed to be of higher intensity in the glomeruli of the non‐responding patients. The corresponding tryptic peptide is identified as macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF). Conclusions and clinical relevance Despite much effort being made in recent years to understand the pathogenesis of MN, a biomarker able to predict the outcome of these patients following therapeutic treatment is still lacking. Here, a protein (MIF), verified by immunohistochemistry, that can differentiate between these MN patients and could be a valuable starting point for a further study focused on verifying its predictive role in therapy response is highlighted.