Do mesangial immune complex deposits affect the renal prognosis in membranous glomerulonephritis?

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who develop membranous glomerulonephritis associated with gold or penicillamine therapy have been shown to get better when the drugs are discontinued, whereas up to 50% of patients with idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis develop renal failure. A feature of the lesion in rheumatoid disease is the presence of mesangial immune complex deposits in addition to the basement membrane deposits of classical idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis. To determine whether the presence of mesangial immune complexes indicates a different renal outcome in membranous glomerulonephritis we studied 3 groups: group A 10 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and drug induced membranous glomerulonephritis with mesangial immune complex deposits, group B 14 patients with idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis with additional mesangial immune complex deposits and group C 25 patients having classic idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis with deposits solely in the glomerular basement membrane. After median follow up of 72 months, nephrotic range proteinuria resolved in all cases in group A after drug withdrawal, 93% of group B, but only 60% of group C (groups A + B vs C, X2 = 7.8, p < 0.01). Serum creatinine remains less than 500 mumol/l in all patients in group A, 93% of group B, but only 64% of group C (groups A + B vs C, X2 = 7.6, p < 0.01). Mesangial immune complex deposits were predominantly of the IgM isotype in both the rheumatoid and idiopathic membranous group. The presence of mesangial immune complex deposits suggests either a different pathogenesis or host responsiveness to that found in classic idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis, and predicts a more favourable renal outcome.