Elsevier

Kidney International

Volume 71, Issue 11, 1 June 2007, Pages 1094-1104
Kidney International

Review
Pathogenesis of poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis a century after Clemens von Pirquet

https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ki.5002169Get rights and content
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Considerable insight has been gained into the etiopathogenesis of poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis since the landmark theoretical construct of Clemens von Pirquet postulated that disease-causing immune complexes were responsible for the nephritis that followed scarlet fever. Over the years, molecular mimicry between streptococcal products and renal components, autoimmune reactivity and several streptococcal antigens have been extensively studied. Recent investigations assign a critical role to both in situ formation and deposition of circulating immune complexes that would trigger a variety of effector mechanisms. Glomerular plasmin-binding activity of streptococcal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase may play a role in nephritogenicity and streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin B and its zymogen precursor may be the long-sought nephritogenic antigen.

Keywords

immune complex disease
streptococcal antigens
streptococcal GAPDH
plasmin receptor
exotoxin B
zymogen

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