Glomerular morphometry of twenty-three biopsied patients with IgA nephropathy

The aim of the present study was the process of an easy method for quantitative evaluation of the alterations of the mesangial matrix, cellularity and urinary space in IgA glomerulonephritis (IgA-GN) by the image analysis technique. A Vidas (Kontron-Zeiss) image analyzer was employed for the morphometric study of renal biopsies from 23 patients with IgA-GN. The following parameters were assessed: mesangial matrix index, expressed as the ratio between mesangial area and total glomerular area x 100; mesangial cellularity index, considered as the ratio between the total number of nuclei contained in the glomerulus and the overall glomerular area in mm2 x 10(4); urinary space/glomerular area ratio. The morphometric results compared to the respective values observed in normal glomeruli indicate an increase in the overall area of glomeruli with IgA-GN and, conversely, a decrease in the total area occupied by the urinary space (p = 0.0001). It can therefore be concluded that the morphometric determination of the morphologic abnormalities occurring in the renal glomerulus with IgA-GN is an extremely useful method to describe the characteristics of this pathologic condition with a rapid and less laborious approach.