[Immunogenetics of primary membranous glomerulonephritis]

In 65 patients with a biopsy-proven diagnosis of membranous glomerulonephritis, the association with HLA class I, class II and class III antigens was studied using classical techniques. We found a highly significant association with the HLA-DR3 (Pc = 8 x 10(-5)) antigen and with the HLA-B8 (Pc = 2 x 10(-4)) antigen in linkage disequilibrium with the former. In addition, there was an excess of null C4 allotypes (C4 AQo or C4 BQo) in patients and a significant decrease of BfS allele. Finally, the most commonly observed phenotype was A1 B8 DR3 BfS C4AQoB1. These results confirm a strong association between major histocompatibility complex and primary membranous glomerulonephritis, raising the possibility of a susceptibility gene being necessary for the development of that disease.