Atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome
Open Access
- 11 September 2006
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in British Medical Bulletin
- Vol. 77-78 (1) , 5-22
- https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldl004
Abstract
The haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) is characterized by the triad of thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia and acute renal failure. HUS may be classified as either diarrhoeal-associated or non-diarrhoeal/atypical (aHUS). aHUS has recently been shown to be a disease of complement dysregulation, with 50% of cases involving the complement regulatory genes, factor H (CFH), membrane cofactor protein (MCP; CD46), and factor I (IF). However, incomplete penetrance of mutations in each of these genes is reported. This suggests that a precipitating event or trigger is required to unmask the complement regulatory deficiency. The reported precipitating events predominantly cause endothelial injury. Discovery of these mutations has revealed important genotype–phenotype correlations. MCP-HUS has a better prognosis and a better outcome after transplantation than either CFH-HUS or IF-HUS.Keywords
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