Nephritogenic Properties of Cross-Reacting Kidney-Fixing Antibodies to Heart, Spleen and Muscle

Abstract

Cross-reacting kidney-fixing antibodies may cause an immediate (heterologous) nephrotoxic serum nephritis if: a) a sufficient amount of antibody is injected, and b) if the kidney has enough cross-reacting antigenic determinants to allow fixation of a nephritogenic amount of antibody. If these two conditions are met, cross-reacting kidney-fixing antibodies are effective in inducing immediate nephritis. A cross-reacting kidney-fixing antiserum which reacts with only a small number of glomerular antigenic determinants cannot alone cause immediate nephritis. However, if such antisera are injected simultaneously with subnephritogenic amounts of anti-kidney antibody, their combined effect may be immediately nephritogenic. All cross-reacting kidney-fixing antibodies are so anatomically situated in the glomerulus that they can participate in delayed or autologous nephrotoxic serum nephritis. The cross-reacting kidney-fixing antibodies have shorter half-disappearance times from the kidney than true anti-kidney antibodies.