Experimental canine adenovirus glomerulonephritis: persistence of glomerular lesions after oral challenge.

Ten dogs were given canine adenovirus by the non-lethal oral route. Eight dogs were biopsied at 10 days after administration of virus in order to establish the presence of immune-complex glomerulonephritis. At this time, granular deposits of IgG, IgM, C3 and viral antigen were observed in a mesangial location and electrondense deposits were found. The dogs were then killed up to 40 days after receiving virus and, in all cases, deposits of immunoglobulins and complement together with the mesangial proliferative lesions were found to have persisted.