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Marked elevation of serum hyaluronan levels in collagenofibrotic glomerulopathy
Shunsuke Goto1, Kentaro Nakai, Jun Ito
1Division of Nephrology and Kidney Center, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
Insights
Collagenofibrotic glomerulopathy shows extremely high serum hyaluronan levels. Kidney transplantation may normalize these levels, suggesting hyaluronan as a diagnostic marker for this rare kidney disease.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Collagenofibrotic glomerulopathy is a rare kidney disease.
- It involves significant type III collagen deposition in glomerular structures.
Observation:
- Patients with this condition exhibited dramatically elevated serum hyaluronan levels.
- Hyaluronan levels were over 1,000 times the normal limit in some cases.
Findings:
- Serum hyaluronidase levels and activity remained normal.
- Hyaluronan deposition was not prominent in the glomeruli.
- One kidney transplant recipient showed normalized serum hyaluronan.
Implications:
- Elevated serum hyaluronan may serve as a specific biomarker for collagenofibrotic glomerulopathy.
- Kidney transplantation appears to resolve the marked increase in serum hyaluronan.
Abstract:
Collagenofibrotic glomerulopathy is a rare glomerular disease characterized by the massive deposition of type III collagen in mesangial and subendothelial spaces. We observed markedly increased serum hyaluronan levels in patients with collagenofibrotic glomerulopathy; levels in three patients were more than 1,000-times greater than the normal upper limit. However, one kidney transplant patient had normal serum hyaluronan levels. We found that serum levels and activities of the enzyme hyaluronidase were normal, and hyaluronan was not markedly deposited in the mesangial or subendothelial spaces. Our findings suggest that serum hyaluronan levels may be a specific diagnostic marker of collagenofibrotic glomerulopathy, and kidney transplantation may alleviate marked increases in serum hyaluronan.
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