[Two-color analysis of lymphocyte subpopulations in membranous nephropathy and minimal change nephrotic syndrome].

Two-color flow cytometry was carried out to determine the correlation between cell mediated immunity and the development of the nephrotic stage in patients with membranous nephropathy (MN) and minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS). In this study, lymphocyte subpopulations were measured by two-color flow cytometry using various monoclonal antibodies of the Leu series. Thirty patients with MN and 25 patients with MCNS were examined. Clinically, those patients were divided into four stages as follows: (1) untreated nephrotic stage, (2) prednisolone (PSL) treated nephrotic stage, (3) persistent proteinuria stage (incomplete remission, ICR), and (4) complete remission (CR). Pathologically, the patients with MN also divided into four stages I-IV, according to Churg's classification. The values of the Leu 3a/Leu 2a ratio in patients in the untreated nephrotic stage of MN and MCNS were significantly higher than those in the remission stage in both diseases (P less than 0.01, P less than 0.05, respectively). Two-color flow cytometry showed that the reduction of Leu2a positive cells was mainly due to a decrease of Leu 2a+15+ subsets (suppressor T cells) in the untreated nephrotic stage and relative increase of Leu 3a+8+ subsets (suppressor inducer T cells). There was no significant difference in these findings among the histopathological stages in patients with MN. Patients with MN and MCNS showed a significant elevation of Leu 2a+DR+ cells after the treatment of PSL. The abnormalities of suppressor T cells and suppressor inducer T cells in the peripheral blood appear to be correlated with clinical activities of the nephrotic syndrome due to MN or MCNS, but not to be related to the pathogenesis of either disease. It is postulated that PSL might stimulate Leu 2a positive cells and Leu 3a positive cells, and then increase the number of Leu 2a+15+ cells in the peripheral blood of patients with MN and MCNS.