Genetics of Immune-Mediated Glomerular Diseases: Focus on Complement

Summary: The spectrum of immune-mediated glomerular diseases is wide, ranging from rare diseases with well-recognized genetic origins to more common and multifactorial diseases. Immune-mediated glomerular injury is complex and involves both the innate and the adaptive immune systems. In the past 20 years a huge effort has been undertaken to unravel the genetic basis of immune-mediated glomerular diseases. The discovery of abnormalities in genes encoding proteins of the alternative pathway of complement in more than 50% of patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), and in approximately 20% of patients with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN), has highlighted the role of this complement pathway in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated glomerular diseases.
Source: Seminars in Nephrology - Category: Urology & Nephrology Authors: Source Type: research