MONOCYTE INVOLVEMENT IN GLOMERULAR CRESCENTS - A HISTOCHEMICAL AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL-STUDY

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 47  (2) , 160-166
Abstract
The biopsies from 14 patients with glomerulonephritis with crescents were studied to determine the extent of monocyte involvement in crescent formation. Antiglomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease was diagnosed in 6 and immune complex (IC) glomerulonephritis in 8. .alpha.-Naphthyl acetate staining of frozen sections for nonspecific esterase was done in 11 cases (5 anti-GBM and 6 IC), and the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method for lysozyme was done in 2 (both IC). EM of crescents was carried out in 12 cases. The mean number of nonspecific esterase (or lysozyme-excluding neutrophils) positive cells was 6.0 (.+-. 5.8) in the anti-GBM cases and 1.1 (.+-. 1.4) in the IC ones. The difference was significant (P < 0.05). By EM microscopy the cellular crescents in cases of anti-GBM disease contained variable numbers of monocytes (macrophages) and epithelial cells. Those from cases of IC disease showed very few monocytes but numerous epithelial cells. Apparently, monocytes participate in a numerically significant way in crescent formation in anti-GBM disease but appear to be of minor importance in crescents in IC disease.