Light chain (LC) cast nephropathy is the main cause of kidney injury and an important determinant of poor survival in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). It is usually suspected when an MM patient with elevated serum concentration of free LC presents kidney failure, but it often requires confirmation by kidney biopsy. We report the case of a 73-year-old woman who presented with fatigue, weight loss, and constipation. Laboratory exams revealed anemia, hypercalcemia, and kidney failure. Urine sediment analysis demonstrated irregular crystalline "waxy type" casts. With the hypothesis of LC cast nephropathy, immunostaining of the urine sediment was performed. The analysis revealed several rectangular and irregular casts with intense and bright stain for λ LCs only. A myelogram was performed, showing extensive occupation of the bone marrow by plasma cells; and immunofixation in urine and serum revealed monoclonal IgG-λ component, confirming the diagnosis of IgG-λ MM. This case highlights the potential utility of the urine sediment analysis and immuno-staining as a reliable non-invasive alternative method for diagnosis of cast nephropathy in patients with monoclonal gammopathies.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.5414/CN110395 | DOI Listing |
Cureus
December 2024
Internal Medicine/Nephrology, Riverside Health System, Yonkers, USA.
We report an interesting case of an elderly male patient with splenic marginal zone lymphoma with a monoclonal cluster of differentiation (CD)5+ B cells. The patient developed signs of renal injury and was evaluated via serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation electrophoresis, which revealed monoclonal gammopathy with elevated free lambda light chain. However, a bone biopsy ruled out a diagnosis of multiple myeloma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Cholemic nephropathy is an overlooked cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with advanced cirrhosis and high bilirubin plasma levels (usually above 20mg/dl), due to bilirubin and bile acid deposition in the kidneys. Those deposits have been hypothesized to cause tubular injury. It has no standardized diagnostic criteria or therapeutic strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFASEB J
January 2025
Department of Hematology, Nephrology, and Rheumatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Akita University, Akita, Japan.
Various tubular diseases in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are caused by monoclonal immunoglobulin light chains (LCs). However, the physicochemical characteristics of the disease-causing LCs contributing to the onset of MM-associated tubular diseases remain unclear. We herein report a rare case of MM-associated combined tubulopathies: non-crystalline light chain proximal tubulopathy (LCPT) and crystalline light chain cast nephropathy (LCCN).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Omega
December 2024
Division of Solid-State Electronics, Department of Electrical Engineering, The Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, SE-751 03 Uppsala, Sweden.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoparticles encapsulated with a lipid bilayer, and they constitute an excellent source of biomarkers for multiple diseases. However, the heterogeneity in their molecular compositions constitutes a major challenge for their recognition and profiling, thereby limiting their application as an effective biomarker. A single-EV analysis technique is crucial to both the discovery and the detection of EV subpopulations that carry disease-specific signatures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Renal Physiol
February 2025
Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States.
The presence of tubular casts within the kidney serves as an important feature when assessing the degree of renal injury. Quantification of renal tubular casts has been historically difficult due to varying cast morphologies, protein composition, and stain uptake properties, even within the same kidney. Color thresholding remains one of the most common methods of quantification in the laboratory when assessing the percentage of renal casting; however, this method is unable to account for tubule casts stained a variety of colors.
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