Cellular and circulating immunity to diabetic basement membrane, a negative finding.

A linear deposition of IgG was seen by immunofluorescence on the glomerular basement membrane of a diabetic kidney. However, when the remaining kidney was subjected to elution with acidic buffer the eluate had no affinity for glomerular basement membrane. The leucocytes from normal and diabetic subjects were also tested for an in vitro cell-mediated response to diabetic and normal basement membrane. No difference was found between the reaction of leucocytes from diabetics and those from normal age- and sex-matched controls.