Recurrence of dense deposits in transplanted kidneys: I. Sequential survey of the lesions

Serial specimens from transplanted kidneys were obtained in 11 patients with dense deposit disease (DDD). The recurrence of DDD was obvious in 9 patients and appeared very early after grafting. Three different types of evolution of the lesions were observed. In 4 patients no modification of the lesions occurred with time, and in 2 of them the dense alteration alone persisted without any other glomerular changes. In 3 patients a progression of the lesions was observed, whereas a regression occurred in 1 other patient. From these observations the following sequence of the morphologic changes can be proposed: the dense alteration appears first and constitutes the specific marker of that disease; the C3 deposition in the kidney occurs later following the appearance of the dense lesion.