IgA mesangial deposits in C3H/HeJ mice after oral immunization with ferritin or bovine serum albumin.

In order to study an experimental model of IgA nephropathy, C3H/HeJ mice which are high IgA responders were strongly immunized orally with ferritin and compared to syngeneic C3H/eB. C3H/HeJ exhibited a significant increase of total IgA level in the serum and of IgA deposits in the mesangium. However the low level of IgA antibody to ferritin detected in the serum and the unsuccessful search for ferritin and antibody to ferritin in the glomeruli suggest that strong oral immunization of C3H/HeJ mice leads to high level of non specific IgA in the serum and deposition of IgA in the kidney.