Circulating immune complexes and phagocytic activity of polymorphonuclear cells in patients with glomerulopathies

Out of 92 renal patients with various types of glomerulonephritis diagnosed by renal biopsy 49 (52 per cent) proved to be immune complex positive by the platelet aggregation test. The highest frequency of circulating immune complexes was found in Henoch-Schoenlein (5 out of 5) and IgA (4 out of 5) nephropathies. The occurrence of circulating immune complexes correlated well with the clinical activity of the renal disease. The phagocytic activity of the polymorphonuclear cells was investigated in 46 patients and depressed activity was detected in all but one of the patients. There was no relationship between the titer of circulating immune complexes in serum and the extent of phagocytic activity.