Abstract
Background: Some renal biopsies cannot distinguish minimal change disease (MCD) from primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) because of inadequate sampling and/or a lack of sampled glomeruli with segmental sclerosis. As protein excretion in MCD has been described as being albumin-selective, we examined whether the ratio of immunoglobulin G (IgG)/albumin staining in protein reabsorption droplets (tPRD) might help distinguish MCD from FSGS. Methods: Frozen tissue from 144 native renal biopsies from patients with nephrotic syndrome and a diagnosis of MCD or FSGS [73 MCD, 30 FSGS tip variant (FSGS-tip), 38 FSGS-not otherwise specified (FSGS-NOS), 3 FSGS collapsing] was retrospectively stained by direct immunofluorescence for IgG and albumin; none of these samples showed diagnostic lesions of FSGS. IgG and albumin staining of tPRD were graded on a scale of 0 to 3+ based on the distribution and intensity of staining. Results: Mean (standard deviation) IgG/albumin staining ratios were 0.186 ± 0.239 for MCD, 0.423 ± 0.334 for FSGS-tip (P = 0.0001 versus MCD) and 0.693 ± 0.297 for FSGS-NOS (P < 0.0001 versus MCD; P = 0.0001 versus FSGS-tip). Of 84 biopsies with a ratio ≤0.33, 63 (75%) showed MCD, whereas among 21 with a ratio of 1.0, all but one showed FSGS (15 FSGS-NOS). Conclusions: In summary, IgG/albumin staining in tPRD was correlated with histologic diagnosis in renal biopsies with MCD and FSGS. A ratio of ≤0.33 was associated with MCD, whereas a ratio of 1.0 was most often seen with FSGS-NOS.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1016-1022 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2020 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.
Keywords
- IgG/albumin staining ratio
- focal segmental glomerulosclerosis
- minimal change disease
- protein reabsorption droplets
- renal biopsy