[The complement system in kidney diseases]

The multifaceted relations between complement system and immune-mediated nephropathies are reviewed. Several conditions in which either the complement activation induces renal damage without hypocomplementemia or hypocomplementemia occurs in the absence of circulating IC are reported as well as disorders in which immune complexes promote hypocomplementemia. The complement system is involved in the clearance of immune complexes, both modifying the immune complex size and favouring the physiologic neutralization by the erythrocyte transport system. In certain pathological conditions the immune complex intrinsic characteristic or genetic abnormalities prevent efficient removal from the blood stream. The purpose of the present review is to summarize these conditions, briefly describing their pathological consequences, and indicate a simple scheme to correctly interpret the biochemical abnormalities of the complement system in nephropathology.