An in situ hybridization study of herpes simplex and Epstein Barr viruses in IgA nephropathy and non-immune glomerulonephritis.

Renal tissues from forty cases of IgA nephropathy, 20 Singapore and 20 British patients, and 38 patients with non-immune glomerulonephritis were studied by in situ hybridization using DNA probes for the herpes simplex virus (HSV) and Epstein Barr virus (EBV). Two Singapore patients with IgA nephropathy showed HSV antigens in the glomerular mesangium, with one of them having EBV coinfection. In the control non-immune glomerulonephritis cases, 4 patients had viral antigens; 2 with EBV, one with EBV and HSV coinfection, and one with HSV alone. The study indicates that in some cases of IgA nephropathy and in non-immune nephropathy there may be coincidental rather than causal persistent infection by the herpes group of viruses.