Mononuclear cell subsets in human renal disease. Enumeration in tissue sections with monoclonal antibodies

Mononuclear inflammatory cells (MIC) in renal biopsies from 37 patients with renal disease were studied by avidin--biotin--immunoperoxidase complex (ABC) technique, utilizing monoclonal antibodies to cell surface antigens: T11 (total T), T4 (inducer/helper), T8 (suppressor/cytotoxic), B1 (B cells), M1 (monocytes), and Leu-7 (natural killer, NK cells). Renal MIC consisted mostly of T cells and monocytes. T cells were a predominating cell type in the renal interstitium of all patients studied (64-88% of MIC). The T4:T8 ratios ranged from 0.4 +/- 0.3 (mean +/- SEM) in interstitial nephritis to 2.5 +/- 0.9 in membranous glomerulonephritis. M1+ cells constituted from 10 to 62% of glomerular MIC and from 5 to 24% of interstitial MIC. Glomerular MIC were rare or absent in patients with IgA nephropathy (IgA N). These results support the concept that in situ interactions of T lymphocytes and monocytes may modulate the events leading to the development of human renal disease. The striking absence of glomerular MIC in IgA N could be related to persistence of immune deposits in the glomeruli of patients with this renal disorder.