Presence of covalent bonds between immune deposits and other macromolecules in murine renal glomeruli.

Microscopic studies have suggested that immune deposits persist for a long time in subepithelial areas of renal glomeruli in human diseases and in experimental models. This study showed quantitatively that in an experimental murine model radiolabelled antibodies in subepithelial immune deposits remained constant for 9 months at about 3 micrograms/mouse. The extraction of these antibodies was incomplete with 1% SDS at 8 months after immune deposit formation. Furthermore, in the extracted material some antibodies were covalently bound to other molecules. This study demonstrates that covalent bond formation contributes to the persistence of immune deposits in renal glomeruli.