The following is a summary of “A pilot study of anti-nephrin antibodies in podocytopaties among adults,” published in the October 2023 issue of Nephrology by Chebotareva et al.

Minimal change disease (MCD) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) are podocytopathies caused by damage to the glomerular filtration barrier, and anti-podocyte antibodies are thought to play a role in their development.

Researchers started a retrospective study to assess anti-nephrin antibody levels in patients with podocytopathies and healthy subjects.

They included 77 patients with active glomerulopathy and 11 healthy subjects. Among the patients, 41 were diagnosed with FSGS, 11 with MCD, and 25 with MN. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to quantify the levels of anti-nephrin antibodies.

The results showed higher levels of antibodies to nephrin in patients with MCD (61.2 ng/mL [28.9–66.3]) and FSGS (32.5 ng/mL [17.2–58.4]) compared to MN (20.3 ng/mL [14.4–38.4]) and healthy individuals (15.3 ng/mL [12–18.9]) at P<.05. In primary FSGS patients, antibody levels to nephrin were notably higher (45.2 ng/mL [20–64.3]) than in secondary FSGS patients (26.7 ng/mL [11.2–44.1]) at P< .05. No notable differences in remission rates were observed between the anti-nephrin antibodies positive and negative groups (log-rank test: P=.158).

Investigators concluded that anti-nephrin antibody levels were higher in patients with MCD and primary FSGS but did not affect treatment response.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nep.14249