Increased and prolonged production of specific polymeric IgA after systemic immunization with tetanus toxoid in IgA nephropathy

Abstract

SUMMARY IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is a chronic form of glomerulonephritis which is characterized by THE deposition in the glomerular mesangium of polymeric IgA (pIgA), the source of which is unknown. In order to investigate the production of pIgA in IgAN, patients were immunized systemically with tetanus toxoid (TT). Two weeks after immunization patients and controls responded to TT with an IgA response of similar magnitude. HPLC separation of sera showed that patients with IgAN produce significantly more plgA anti-TT than controls (7·7 versus 2·88 arbitrary units; P 0·04). At this time, 33% of serum IgA anti-TT produced by patients with IgAN was polymeric, compared with 21% produced by controls (P < 0·02). Monomeric IgA (mIgA) anti-TT levels were similar in both groups. Four weeks after immunization the proportion of pIgA anti-TT in controls and patients was significantly reduced from the 2 week level (from 21% to 0%, P < 0·02 for controls: and from 33% to 8%, P 0·001, for patients). Only four out of 12 controls had any detectable pIgA anti-TT at this time compared with nine out of 10 patients with IgAN (P<0·05), and IgAN patients produced proportionally more pIgA anti-TT than did controls (median 8%, interquartile ranges (IQR) 4–10%versus 0% IQR 0–3%; P < 0·01). HPLC analysis under acid conditions did not alter the pattern of pIgA and mIgA anti-TT, suggesting that the high molecular weight IgA fraction was not due to complexes. These data indicate that circulating pIgA results (at least in part) from a systemic response to antigen, which may be exaggerated in IgAN.