[Anti-laminin and anti-type IV procollagen antibodies in Goodpasture's syndrome (author's transl)].

The sera of 24 patients presenting with Good-pasture's syndrome, and of 30 normal blood donors were tested for the presence of anti-basement membrane (BM) antibodies, by a radioimmunological method, using two highly purified BM antigens, i.e. the type IV (BM) procollagen and a non-collagenous glycoprotein (laminin) isolated from the BM matrix secreted by a murine tumor. In marked contrast to the normal sera, the sera from 20 out of 24 patients presenting with Goodpasture's syndrome exhibited high anti-laminin and/or anti-type IV procollagen antibody levels. The other sera did not react with both BM antigens tested. The antibody titers varied according to the antigens used the sera tested. Kidney eluates from 4 "positive" patients also contained significant amounts of anti-laminin and anti-type IV procollagen antibodies. The data demonstrate that, in Goodpasture's syndrome, the pathogenicity of circulating and kidney-fixed anti-BM antibodies is not related to the chemical nature of the BM antigens triggering the immune response only. They suggest a polyclonal rather than a monoclonal stimulation in this disease.