Comparison of nephritogenic glycopeptide, nephritogenoside, isolated from rat glomerular basement membranes with other basement membrane components.

Nephritogenic glycopeptide, nephritogenoside, is a minor component of basement membranes (the yield: 2-3 micrograms/kidney), and in homologous animals causes chronic glomerulonephritis. Nephritogenoside was compared to other basement membrane components including collagenous and noncollagenous glycoproteins. In limited pepsin digests of rat renal cortices, nephritogenoside was separable from type IV collagen by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, although these two substances showed immunological cross-reactivity each other. Nephritogenoside did not immunologically cross-react with laminin and fibronectin by direct or inhibition enzyme immunoassay. These results indicate that nephritogenoside is different from basement membrane glycoproteins such as laminin and fibronectin and that nephritogenoside can be isolated from type IV collagen.