Nephritic Syndrome Flashcards
What are the three major symptoms of nephritis?
Renal failure
Hypertension
Hematuria: acute, chronic, or rapidly progressive
- deformed urine RBC, RBC casts
What makes the glomerulus susceptible to injury?
20-25% of cardiac output passes through
High glomerular capillary pressure
Fenestrated endothelium
Concentration (sieving effect)
What are the ways that you can get immunologic injury to glomerulus?
Glomerular deposition of Ag-Ab complexes
Binding of circulating Ab to fixed glomerular Ag
In situ immune complex formation
What are the consequences of glomerular immune complex deposition in acute glomerulonephritis?
Leukocytes come into capillary lumen
Releases proteases, elastase, ROS whcih digests GBM producing gas & rupturing it
These holes allow RBC to leak
It also damages the endothelium, causing activation of clotting system, fibrin can form
Also releas of interleukins & cytokines that activate platelets and mesangial cells leading to mesangial proliferation
What patterns of proliferation do you see in the glomerulus secondary to this inflammation?
Endocapillary
Extracapillary = Crescentic
(outside the confines of the glomerular capillaries)
Usually much more severe disease = rapidly progressing
Which patterns of glomerular disease can you get?
Focal v. diffuse: how many glomeruli
Global v. segmental: how much of the tuft
post-strep glomerulonephritis: patholophysiology
It’s an acute nephritic syndrome: decreased GFR: elevated BUN/creat, oliguria, edema, hypertension, urinary red cells & red cell casts
Latent period 10-14 days after strep infection, then glomerulonephritis, which is self-resolving
Diffuse & global endocapillary proliferation
Humps: electron dense deposits of ab-ag complexes, supepithelial: between epithelial cell & GBM, some in the mesangium too = in contact with circulating blood
Grossly: chronic: granular, leather grain appearance, kidney is contracted due to sclerosis of nephrons; atrophied, thin cortex
The antiobody is thought to be pyrogenic exotoxin B & the humps become more electron lucent and resolve within 6 weeks in most patients (rarely it can progress to end stage renal failure)
High complement, especially C3
IgG
Clinical presentation of post-strep glomerulonephritis?
More common in kids
10-14 days after infection
Nephritic picture common
Low serum complement and C3
Positive serological tests for recent strep infection
Prognosis is excellent in children, good in adults
Which glomerulonephritis do you get low serum complement levels? normal levels?
Low levels: acute post infection GN (including post strep)
Lupus nephritis
Idiopathic MPGN
Cyroglobulinemic GN
Normal levels: everything else
This is a good tests to do on a desert island, because there are only 4 with low serum complement!!
IgA Nephropathy
Most common glomerular disease seen worldwide
Diffuse mesangial proliferation, mesangial IgA aggregates in mesangium, RBC in urinary space
What’s the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy?
4 options:
Defective hepatic clearance
Increased IgA production: most commonly; it’s associated with elevated serum IgA, onset may follow upper respiratory tract infection or gastroenteritis
Defect of antigen exclusion at the mucosal surface: URI or gastroenteritis, celiac dz/inflammatory bowel dz
Defective galactosylation of IgA hinge region of polymeric IgA1: hinge region can be immunogenic if it’s galactose deficient, & an autoimmune response drives the dz, may be resistant to clearance against mesangial cells which promotes their deposition
What is the systemic equivalent of IgA Nephropathy?
Henoch-Scholein Purpura
IgA-dominant immune deposits affecting small vessels –> vasculitis in capillaries, venules, arterioles
Typically involves skin, gut, glomeruli & is associated with arthralgias or arthritis
What is the clinical presentation of IgA Nephropathy?
Hematuria following upper resp tract infection or gastroenteritis or physical exercise – no lag time!!
Normal serum complements
Gross hematuria
Treatment of IgA nephropathy?
ACEI & ARB’s - slow the progression bc reduce intraglomeular pressure
Steroids: 6 month course - has long term effect on preventing ESRD even 10 years later
fish oil, mycophenolate
Systemic Lupus Nephritis: clinical features & pathological process
Systemic autoimmune disease
Reduced complement (it’s one of the 4 with reduced complement)
Nephritic features- decreased GFR (elevated creat), high blood pressure, RBC/casts in urine
Diffuse and global endocapillary proliferation with leukocyte infiltration
Full house immunofluorescence staining: IgG, IgM, IgA, C3, C1q
Wile loop deposits = subendothelial Ag-Ab deposits that lead to thickening of glomerular capillary wall
Hematoxyphil bodies = exposed nuclei (from leukocytes that have undergone cell death) complexed with ANA (antinuclear antibody): deposit in mesangium and subendothelial regions
