IgA-CD89 complex in IgA nephropathy: a study on molecular function

IgA nephropathy is the most common form of primary glomerulonephritis worldwide. The basic pathogenesis of this disease is believed to be due to the complex formation between Fc IgA, alphaRI (CD89), and transferrin receptor (CD71), leading to the damage of the glomerulus. However, studying the functional aberration in the human IgA, CD89, and CD71 complex formation in pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy is hard. Here, the author used a new gene ontology technology to predict the molecular function of human IgA, CD89, and CD71 complex. It can be seen that the two main functional aberrations of IgA-CD89 complex might be due to signal transduction and binding activity.