The role of complement in kidney disease

While the complement cascade is an important component of the innate immune system, uncontrolled activation can cause severe disease. This concept is illustrated by the prototypical complement-mediated renal disease atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS), which causes renal failure if untreated...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical medicine (London, England) England), 2020-03, Vol.20 (2), p.156-160
Main Authors: Willows, Jamie, Brown, Matthew, Sheerin, Neil S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome
C3 glomerulopathy
CME: Renal medicine
Complement
Defects
glomerulonephritis n
Hypertension
Immune system
Immunoglobulins
Infections
Kidney diseases
Mutation
Pathogenesis
Pathogens
Patients
Proteins
thrombotic microangiopathy
Transplants & implants
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:While the complement cascade is an important component of the innate immune system, uncontrolled activation can cause severe disease. This concept is illustrated by the prototypical complement-mediated renal disease atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS), which causes renal failure if untreated but when managed with the complement inhibitor eculizumab leaves the patient vulnerable to infection with encapsulated organisms. Complement activation is also implicated in the pathogenesis of many other renal and non-renal diseases, necessitating an understanding of complement biology and diagnostics. We review renal diseases in which complement over-activation is known to cause tissue injury; aHUS and C3 glomerulopathy. We also discuss the contribution of complement more widely to the pathophysiology of renal disease, and highlight the significance and side effects of anti-complement therapy relevant to the general physician.
ISSN:1470-2118
1473-4893
DOI:10.7861/clinmed.2019-0452