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T lymphocyte participation in acute serum sickness glomerulonephritis in rabbits
Author(s) -
LOWE M. G.,
HOLDSWORTH S. R.,
TIPPING P. G.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
immunology and cell biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0818-9641
DOI - 10.1038/icb.1991.13
Subject(s) - serum sickness , proteinuria , immune system , glomerulonephritis , medicine , lymphocyte , nephritis , immunology , endocrinology , antigen , pathogenesis , immune complex , renal glomerulus , bovine serum albumin , kidney , antibody
Summary The extent and timing of glomerular T lymphocyte infiltration was studied in acute serum sickness (AcSS) glomerulonephritis (GN) in rabbits. AcSS was initiated by a single intravenous injection of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Rabbits developed circulating BSA anti‐BSA immune complexes, and rapid immune elimination of the circulating antigen was associated with the deposition of immune complexes in the kidney and the onset of a diffuse endocapillary proliferative GN. On the day of immune elimination (defined as when < 1% of the injected antigen remained in the circulation), rabbits developed significant proteinuria (98 ± 36 mg/24 h; normal 14 ± 1 mg/24 h, P< 0.01), glomerular macrophage accumulation (44.3 ±21.1 macrophages per glomerulus [mac/glom]: normal 0.28 ±0.18 mac/glom, P < 0.01), and a significant glomerular T lymphocyte influx (3.0 ± 0.9 cells/glomerular cross‐section [c/gcs]; normal 0.47 ± 0.13 c/gcs; p <0.005). On the day prior to immune elimination, increased T cells numbers were observed in some rabbits (2.4 ± 2.1 c/gcs) together with a minor macrophage presence (7.6 ± 3.6 mac/glom) and minimal proteinuria (17.6 ± 3 mg/24 h). These studies demonstrate the influx of T lymphocytes together with macrophages al the onset of proteinuria in serum sickness nephritis and are consistent with a role for cell‐mediated immunity in the pathogenesis of this lesion.