Silent recovery of native kidney function after transplantation in a patient with membranous nephropathy.

Recurrence of membranous nephropathy (MN) is frequently seen after transplantation. However, there are no published data about the course of MN in the native kidneys after transplantation. Disease progression in almost all cases is assumed to be the 'natural' course after transplantation. We report on a patient suffering from end-stage renal disease due to MN. Eight years after transplantation, nephrectomy was performed due to chronic rejection and unexpectedly, partial recovery of native kidney function was noted. As far as we know, there is no other similar case reported in the literature. The potential impact of the immunosuppression, especially of calcineurin inhibitors, is discussed.