Histopathological and immune alterations in autopsied kidneys

To collect data on all detectable histologic and immune alterations from the kidneys of 55 autopsy cases.

This prospective study was carried out at the Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey. Fifty-five cases were subjected to the study among 248 autopsies that were performed in 2011 and 2012. All kidney samples were evaluated under a light microscope and fresh tissue samples were used for immunofluorescence microscopy. Immunohistochemically kappa (κ) and lambda (λ) antibodies were applied to the tissue sections. The glomerular, tubulo-interstitial, and vascular alterations, as well as immune depositions were noted.

The microscopic morphology was close to normal histology in only 23 cases, and 23 cases had glomerular alterations. Nineteen cases had at least one immune deposition. There was immunoglobulin A deposition in 13 cases, and 9 cases showed positivity for both κ and λ immunohistochemically, and there was no clonal positivity.

The most striking outcome of our study is the high rate of immune depositions. There was also a significant number of glomerular and non-glomerular renal alterations.