Transient isolated marked elevation of midregion parathyroid hormone fragments in an infant.

We describe here a Japanese male infant who transiently showed a marked elevation of midregion parathyroid hormone (M-PTH) fragments in serum with no increase in full-length 1-84 amino acid PTH and carboxy-terminal PTH fragments. He presented with a large anterior fontanel, delayed closure of the anterior fontanel, and mild short stature at 4 months old; he was normocalcemic with a normal urine calcium/creatinine ratio and absent subperiosteal bone resorption on X-ray film. Serum levels of M-PTH fragments were in >3200 pg/mL but logarithmically decreased with age.

Localization of nephritis-associated plasmin receptor in acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis.

The nephritis-associated plasmin receptor is a recently identified nephritogenic antigen associated with acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis and proposed to play a pathogenic role, but its precise glomerular localization in acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis has not been elucidated. We therefore analyzed renal biopsy sections from 10 acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis patients by using immunofluorescence staining with anti-nephritis-associated plasmin receptor antibody and various markers of glomerular components. Nephritis-associated plasmin receptor was detected in the glomeruli of all patients, and double staining for nephritis-associated plasmin receptor and collagen IV showed nephritis-associated plasmin receptor to be predominantly on the inner side of the glomerular tufts.