Receptor antagonists of platelet-activating factor do not influence the development of passive Heymann nephritis.

Heymann nephritis in the rat is a proteinuric condition caused by glomerular lesions similar to those found in human membranous nephritis. In the present study the effect of two different receptor antagonists of platelet-activating factor (PAF) on the course of passive Heymann nephritis was assessed. It was found that rats treated with either antagonist showed the same degree of proteinuria and the same glomerular immunopathological features as untreated rats. Furthermore, at sacrifice, 7 days after the initiation of the disease, the concentration of circulating PAF in treated as well as untreated rats was normal. These results indicate that PAF is not crucial in the pathogenesis of Heymann nephritis.