A MECHANISM OF ENHANCEMENT OF IMMUNE-COMPLEX DEPOSITION FOLLOWING INSITU IMMUNE-COMPLEX FORMATION IN THE MOUSE GLOMERULUS

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 43  (3) , 433-439
Abstract
The i.v. injection into mice of small amounts of heat-aggregated bovine serum albumin (BSA) results in deposition of BSA within the glomerulus. Injection of rabbit anti-BSA antibody at a time when all circulating BSA has been cleared results in in situ formation of BSA anti-BSA immune complexes with fixation of mouse C[complement]3. Subsequent injection of passively-prepared immune complexes gives much enhanced deposition of immune material when compared with mice given immune complexes alone. This is an antigen-specific phenomenon and not a result of non-specific trapping by damaged glomeruli. The implications of these observations on the pathogenesis of immune complex glomerulonephritis are discussed.