A 27-year-old woman with a ventriculo-atrial shunt presented with a nephrotic syndrome and hypocomplementemia. Propionibacterium acnes was cultured from blood and shunt valve. The renal biopsy specimen showed features of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, and IgM, C3 and the bacterial antigen were demonstrated by immunofluorescence microscopy. Treatment resulted in slow resolution of the nephritis. A short review of the literature will be given.