Filterable cell-associated cryptic bacterial forms in immunologic renal diseases.

Blood and urine derived from patients with certain types of nephritis contain filterable (0.22 mu.) bacterial forms, which heretofore have not been considered as possible etiologic agents in those diseases. Furthermore, these cryptic bacterial forms are overlooked by conventional culture techniques. It is hypothesized that the organisms and/or host-cell-variant-bacterial antigen complexes could be the initiators of immunopathologic events in various types of immunologic renal diseases.