Deep pockets are not necessarily a good thing in membranous nephropathy: evidence for a modifier allele.

Risk (or susceptibility) alleles for primary membranous nephropathy exist within the DQ and DR loci of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region of chromosome 6. The discussed study identifies a novel allele, HLA DRB1*1502, in a Han Chinese cohort that acts as a modifier allele by associating not with the phenotype of membranous nephropathy, but rather with the severity of disease. This commentary addresses the potential biologic aspects of these new data.