Abstract
A wide varieties of patients with renal diseases characterized by clinical and pathological observations were studied for the distribution of C3b receptor: chronic proliferative glomerulonephritis (C.P.G.N.) 43 cases, acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (A.G.N.) 9 cases, membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (M.P.G.N.) 6 cases and membranous nephropathy (M. N.) 2 cases. In addition, 6 cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (S.L.E.) and 2 cases of acute renall failure (A.R.F.) were also studied. Control subjects comprised 6 healthy kidneys.The results were as follows: 1) It was found that EAC3b was specifically fixed to glomeruli in normal kidney, confirming the existence of C3b receptor in normal glomeruli. 2) In C.P.G.N. group, the staining pattern with C3 was grouped into four classes, i.e. G.B.M. pattern, mesangial pattern, combined pattern and negative on immunofluorescent microscopy. The population of C3b receptor tended to be decreased more drastically in the G.B.M. pattern than in the mesangial pattern. 3) In C.P.G.N. group, the patients were classified into three groups on light microscopy: (a) those in mild P.G.N., (b) moderate P.G.N. and (c) advanced G. N. Generally, many cases of advanced G. N. group tended to exhibit the more decreased staining of C3b receptor than those of mild P.G.N. group. 4) The number of C3b receptor was decreased especially in patients with M.P.G.N., A. G. N. and M. N. 5) The prosperity and decay of glomerular C3b receptor may play on important role in the deposition of C3 to G.B.M. and glomerular injury. Moreover, it is reasonable to consider the influences of steriod and immunosuppressive drugs on the staining of glomerular C3b receptor in our study. Further studies will be needed to establish the precise role of C3b receptor in the pathophysiolgy of renal diseases.
