Histologic and Clinical Factors Associated with Kidney Outcomes in IgA Vasculitis Nephritis.

Background: Nephritis is a common manifestation of IgA vasculitis and is morphologically indistinguishable from IgA nephropathy. While MEST-C scores are predictive of kidney outcomes in IgA nephropathy, their value in IgA vasculitis nephritis has not been investigated in large multiethnic cohorts.

Methods: Biopsies from 262 children and 99 adults with IgA vasculitis nephritis ( N =361) from 23 centers in North America, Europe, and Asia were independently scored by three pathologists.

Dissecting the histological features of lupus nephritis highlights new common patterns of injury in class III/IV.

Objective: The International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society classification is the gold standard for the characterisation of lupus nephritis (LN) on renal biopsy, with therapeutic repercussions. Its recent revision simplified the current class subdivisions, eliminating the S/G forms of class IV, although data on a possible pathogenetic/clinical value of this subdivision are still contradictory.

Methods: 353 renal biopsies from Belimumab International Study in LN were assessed through central pathology review.

[The origins of the Renal Immunopathology Group of the Italian Society of Nephrology].

This article describes the birth and development of the Renal Immunopathology Group of the Italian Society of Nephrology. It collects the stories of nephrologists and pathologists who, since the early Seventies up to the first decade of this century, devoted their professional lives to the study of renal pathology with a strong personal involvement, characterized by enthusiasm, commitment, ability, strong spirit of cooperation, and friendship. All this enabled the Group to: propose the criteria for a standardized histological and immuno-histological examination of renal biopsies and reporting; produce several multicenter studies, whose results were also published in important international journals; to set up a national registry of renal biopsies; to organize a number of courses, some of which were associated with the publication of monographs, on various renal diseases.

Renal involvement in sarcoidosis: histological patterns and prognosis, an Italian survey.

Background: Granulomatous interstitial nephritis in sarcoidosis (sGIN) is generally clinically silent, but in <1% causes acute kidney injury (AKI).

Methods: This Italian multicentric retrospective study included 39 sarcoidosis-patients with renal involvement at renal biopsy: 31 sGIN-AKI, 5 with other patterns (No-sGIN-AKI), 3 with nephrotic proteinuria. We investigate the predictive value of clinical features, laboratory, radiological parameters and histological patterns regarding steroid response.

Developments in the Histopathological Classification of ANCA-Associated Glomerulonephritis.

Background And Objectives: The histopathologic classification for ANCA-associated GN distinguishes four classes on the basis of patterns of injury. In the original validation study, these classes were ordered by severity of kidney function loss as follows: focal, crescentic, mixed, and sclerotic. Subsequent validation studies disagreed on outcomes in the crescentic and mixed classes.

Digital pathology for the routine diagnosis of renal diseases: a standard model.

Whole-slide imaging and virtual microscopy are useful tools implemented in the routine pathology workflow in the last 10 years, allowing primary diagnosis or second-opinions (telepathology) and demonstrating a substantial role in multidisciplinary meetings and education. The regulatory approval of this technology led to the progressive digitalization of routine pathological practice. Previous experiences on renal biopsies stressed the need to create integrate networks to share cases for diagnostic and research purposes.

Revision of the International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society classification for lupus nephritis: clarification of definitions, and modified National Institutes of Health activity and chronicity indices.

We present a consensus report pertaining to the improved clarity of definitions and classification of glomerular lesions in lupus nephritis that derived from a meeting of 18 members of an international nephropathology working group in Leiden, Netherlands, in 2016. Here we report detailed recommendations on issues for which we can propose adjustments based on existing evidence and current consensus opinion (phase 1). New definitions are provided for mesangial hypercellularity and for cellular, fibrocellular, and fibrous crescents.

Association of kidney fibrosis with urinary peptides: a path towards non-invasive liquid biopsies?

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A hallmark of CKD progression is renal fibrosis characterized by excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. In this study, we aimed to investigate the correlation of the urinary proteome classifier CKD273 and individual urinary peptides with the degree of fibrosis.

Clinicopathological characteristics of typical and atypical anti-glomerular basement membrane nephritis.

Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibody disease is a rare pathological condition that mainly involves renal and/or pulmonary parenchyma. It is characterized by the presence of circulating anti-GBM antibodies accompanied by a linear deposition of immunoglobulins (Ig) detected through immunofluorescence (IF) technique and typical signs and symptoms of organ dysfunction, such as rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) and pulmonary hemorrhage (PH). However, recently atypical forms of anti-GBM disease have been described and the presence of overlapping diseases contributed to make its diagnosis challenging.

ANCA-Associated Glomerulonephritis: Risk Factors for Renal Relapse.

Relapse in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) has been studied previously, but there are few studies on renal relapse in particular. Identifying patients at high risk of renal relapse may aid in optimizing clinical management. We investigated which clinical and histological parameters are risk factors for renal relapse in ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis (AAGN).

The putative role of MALDI-MSI in the study of Membranous Nephropathy.

Membranous Nephropathy (MN) is an immunocomplex mediated renal disease that represents one of the most frequent glomerulopathies worldwide. This glomerular disease can manifest as primary (idiopathic) or secondary and this distinction is crucial when choosing the most appropriate course of treatment. In secondary cases, the best strategy involves treating the underlying disease, whereas in primary forms, the identification of confirmatory markers of the idiopathic etiology underlining the process is requested by clinicians.

Risk factors for progression in children and young adults with IgA nephropathy: an analysis of 261 cases from the VALIGA European cohort.

Background: There is a need for early identification of children with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) at risk of progression of kidney disease.

Methods: Data on 261 young patients [age <23 years; mean follow-up of 4.9 (range 2.

α-1-Antitrypsin detected by MALDI imaging in the study of glomerulonephritis: Its relevance in chronic kidney disease progression.

Idiopathic glomerulonephritis (GN), such as membranous glomerulonephritis, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), and IgA nephropathy (IgAN), represent the most frequent primary glomerular kidney diseases (GKDs) worldwide. Although the renal biopsy currently remains the gold standard for the routine diagnosis of idiopathic GN, the invasiveness and diagnostic difficulty related with this procedure highlight the strong need for new diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers to be translated into less invasive diagnostic tools. MALDI-MS imaging MALDI-MSI was applied to fresh-frozen bioptic renal tissue from patients with a histological diagnosis of FSGS (n = 6), IgAN, (n = 6) and membranous glomerulonephritis (n = 7), and from controls (n = 4) in order to detect specific molecular signatures of primary glomerulonephritis.

Tonsillectomy in a European Cohort of 1,147 Patients with IgA Nephropathy.

Background: Tonsillectomy has been considered a treatment for IgA nephropathy (IgAN). It is aimed at removing a source of pathogens, reducing mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue and decreasing polymeric IgA synthesis. However, its beneficial effect is still controversial.

The Revisited Classification of GN in SLE at 10 Years: Time to Re-Evaluate Histopathologic Lesions.

Over 10 years have passed since the latest revision of the histopathologic classification of lupus nephritis. This revision was a significant improvement compared with the previous version, mainly because of clearer and more concise definitions and the elimination of mixed subclasses. Despite these improvements, there are still some difficulties in the classification for lupus nephritis, many of which are in the definitions provided.

Tubulointerstitial lesions in lupus nephritis: International multicentre study in a large cohort of patients with repeat biopsy.

Background: The glomerulocentric International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society (ISN/RPS) classification is the gold standard for the evaluation of lupus nephritis, while tubulointerstitial (TIN) parameters are often under-recognized in pathological reports.

Methods: Renal biopsies from 142 patients who underwent repeat biopsy (RB) were evaluated for the following histological parameters: (i) inflammatory interstitial infiltrates; (ii) interstitial fibrosis; (iii) tubulitis; and (iv) tubular atrophy. The inter-relationships between the four TIN variables were explored by multivariate analysis.

Twenty-five years of RENHIS: a history of histopathological studies within EUVAS.

In the early 1990s, an international working group of experienced renal pathologists, the Renal Histology group, set up a scoring system for biopsies with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated glomerulonephritis. This scoring system subdivided glomerular, interstitial and vascular lesions and served as a tool for the evaluation of all renal biopsies from studies of the European Vasculitis Study Group (EUVAS). Histopathological studies gave new insights into the prediction of renal outcome in patients with ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis.

Interobserver agreement on histopathological lesions in class III or IV lupus nephritis.

Background And Objectives: To treat lupus nephritis effectively, proper identification of the histologic class is essential. Although the classification system for lupus nephritis is nearly 40 years old, remarkably few studies have investigated interobserver agreement. Interobserver agreement among nephropathologists was studied, particularly with respect to the recognition of class III/IV lupus nephritis lesions, and possible causes of disagreement were determined.

Renal function and ear, nose, throat involvement in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis: prospective data from the European Vasculitis Society clinical trials.

Objective: We investigated whether ENT involvement is associated with renal biopsy findings and renal function in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV).

Methods: Newly diagnosed AAV patients derived from three international, multicentre trials were included. To investigate an association between ENT involvement and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at diagnosis and 5-year follow-up, we performed multivariable regression analyses including clinical and histopathological parameters.