Alterations of anionic charge and/or sites of the glomerular basement membrane in the heterologous phase of passive Heymann nephritis.

Abstract

Alterations of the anionic charge and/or sites of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) in the heterologous phase of passive Heymann nephritis (PHN) were studied. Rats with PHN induced by a single injection of anti-Fx1A IgG were examined at days 1, 2, 3 and 4. The left kidney was perfused with ruthenium red (RR) solution as a cationic probe. The RR particles (= anionic sites) in the GBM were counted and expressed as the number of RR particles per unit length of GBM. For quantitative determination of the total anionic charge of the GBM, the GBM-bound ruthenium (= anionic charge) was measured with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Abnormal proteinuria corresponding to a decrease in anionic charge was detected at days 3 and 4. The anionic sites in the lamina rara externa (LRE) adjacent to immune complex (IC) deposits were found to have diminished earlier from day 1 onwards. This diminution was largely confined to areas adjacent to the IC deposits and was significantly correlated with the amount of urinary albumin excretion. Proteinuria in the heterologous phase of PHN would thus appear to be causally related to a decrease in the number of anionic sites in the LRE adjacent to IC deposits.