Effect of cyclosporine on in situ immune complex glomerulonephritis.

The influence of Cyclosporine A (CyA) on the development of renal injury in in situ immune complex glomerulonephritis (ICGN) in rats was examined. Left kidneys of male Wistar rats were perfused with cationized human IgG followed by an intravenous injection of rabbit anti-human IgG. CyA was given orally in a dosage of either 2.5, 15 or 25 mg/kg body weight per day in two daily injections. The amount of immune complexes deposited in the left kidney was not affected by CyA application as shown by isotopic studies. There were no differences between the control and CyA groups in respect to immunofluorescence, light and electron microscopy. Proteinuria was significantly inhibited with all treatment schedules, even when rats were first treated five days after inducing nephritis. These results show that CyA inhibits proteinuria without affecting glomerular cell accumulation/proliferation in in situ ICGN, and indicates that cellular activation at glomerular level might be prevented by CyA.