Effect of renal vein constriction on the localization of immune complexes in the kidney

To determine the effect of renal venous constriction on the localization of immune complexes in the kidney, we performed unilateral renal venous constriction in 19 male albino rabbits 7 days after they were given an i.v. bolus (250 mg/kg) of bovine serum albumin (BSA) to induce the development of serum sickness nephritis. The rabbits were sacrificed on day 12 after BSA administration. Renal histology was evaluated by (1) light microscopy, with semiquantitative grading and enumeration of glomerular nuclei and (2) fluorescent microscopy. Six rabbits were nonresponders and did not exhibit nephritis. The remaining 13 rabbits had differential degrees of severity of nephritis between the control and experimental kidneys as assessed by light microscopy (in 7 rabbits) and by fluorescent microscopy (in 12 and 9 rabbits when examined for deposits of IgG and C3, respectively). In all instances, the experimental kidney (with the constricted vein) showed less severe alterations. The degree of protection appeared to correlate with the degree of renal venous constriction, as manifested by tubulointerstitial changes [rs = 0.77, P less than 0.01). We concluded that renal venous constriction exercises a protective effect on the impaction of immune complexes in the glomeruli and development of acute serum sickness nephritis.