Internal medicine

Pathology

Membranous nephropathy

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

Antigen

Antibody

Autoantibody

Immunology

Nephritis

Glomerular basement membrane

Kidney

Kidney disease

Glomerulonephritis

Medicine

Kidney International

Primary membranous nephropathy (MN) is an autoimmune glomerular disease in which autoantibodies are directed against podocyte proteins. In about 80% of cases the main targeted antigen is the phospholipase A2 receptor 1 (PLA2R1). Anti-PLA2R1 antibodies are mainly immunoglobulin G type 4 (IgG4). However, the antigenic target remains to be defined in 20% of cases. MN can be associated with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, an autoimmune disease of the peripheral nervous system where a common antigenic target has yet to be identified.

Contactin-1 is a novel target antigen in membranous nephropathy associated with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy