Chronic allogeneic disease. I. Development of glomerulonephritis

Glomerulonephritis, often accompanied by the nephrotic syndrome, developed in CAF(1) mice following the administration of spleen cells from normal BALB/c mice. The renal lesion was membranous glomerulonephritis. When studied with fluorescein-conjugated antisera to either mouse gamma globulin or beta(1C)-globulin, the glomeruli contained beaded and irregular deposits of these immunoproteins. The ultrastructure of the lesion was characterized by thickening of the glomerular basement membranes and the presence of electron-dense subepithelial deposits. Acid eluates of the diseased kidneys contained gamma globulin that failed to bind to sections of normal kidneys. These findings conform to the type of nephritis provoked by immune complexes. They indicate that this type of immune injury can be based on the reaction of intolerant immunocytes to normal antigens.