Renal deposition of cytomegalovirus antigen in immunoglobulin-A nephropathy.

Renal biopsy specimens from patients with various glomerular disorders were examined by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy with three different heterologous antibodies directed against cytomegalovirus and two heterologous antibodies against herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1. All 31 samples from patients with immunoglobulin-A (IgA) nephropathy, 1 of 12 with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and 1 of 5 with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) showed mesangial staining with cytomegalovirus antiserum, whereas no sample from 37 patients with other forms of glomerulonephritis was positive. Antigens of herpes simplex virus I were demonstrated in samples from 4 of 31 patients with IgA nephropathy, 1 of 12 patients with SLE, 1 of 5 patients with HSP, and 1 of 37 patients with other glomerular diseases. The consistent finding of glomerular cytomegalovirus antigen in IgA nephropathy suggests but does not prove that the virus has a role in the aetiology of this disorder.