Elevated Plasma Levels of Acute Phase Proteins in Mesangioproliferative Glomerulonephritis, Membranous Nephropathy and IGA Nephropathy

Abstract

In order to study the possible role of active inflammatory processes in clinical indolent primary chronic glomerulonephritides, plasma concentrations of the acute phase proteins: α₁-antitrypsin, haptoglobin, orosomucoid and C-reactive protein were measured in 166 glomerulonephritis patients. The patients had a diagnosis of either mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis, membranous nephropathy or immunoglobulin A nephropathy and were divided in two groups, one with heavy urinary albumin losses and one with moderate to slight urinary albumin excretion. The median plasma concentration values for α₁-antitrypsin, haptoglobin and orosomucoid were increased in all three kinds of the investigated glomerulonephritides with exception for orosomucoid in patients with heavy urinary albumin losses and in the membranous nephropathy group. The plasma concentration values for C-reactive protein were not elevated at all in the material. The increase of plasma levels of acute phase proteins could be the result of persistent inflammatory stimuli that occur in primary chronic glomerulonephritides. The finding of unchanging plasma levels of C-reactive protein in contrast to increased concentrations of the other acute phase proteins could be of significance in diagnosing infections or other inflammatory diseases in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis.

Keywords:

• Acute phase reaction
• acute phase proteins
• albuminuria
• primary chronic glomerulonephritides