[Immunology of the Goodpasture's syndrome]

About 5% of all human glomerulonephritides are induced by basal membrane antibodies. Immunohistologically they are characterized by a linear fluorescence along the basal membrane of the glomerulum, when cuts of the kidneys of bioptic material are incubated with fluorescent anti-human-IgG-serum. Basal membrane antibodies circulating in the serum as well as antibodies eluted from renal homogenates are nephritogenic. Also recidivations of nephritis on renal homografts confirm the pathogenic significance. Basal membrane antibodies of patients with rapidly progressing glomerulonephritis seem to differ only by a non-existing cross-reaction to the antigen of the basal membrane of the lungs from Goodpasture basal membrane antibodies. Only a glomerulonephritis with pulmonary haemorrhage induced by basal membrane antibodies should be called Goodpasture syndrome.