Immunocytochemical localization of the Heymann nephritis antigen (GP330) in glomerular epithelial cells of normal Lewis rats

Influence of antigen distribution on the mediation of immunological glomerular injury

To determine if the site of immune reaction could influence the mediation and morphological expression of glomerular injury in experimental anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) nephritis and membranous nephropathy, we studied the events that followed the in situ reaction of rat antibody with antigen planted in either the GBM (especially the lamina rara interna) or in the subepithelial space (SE). Non-nephritogenic amounts of noncomplement-fixing sheep anti-GBM or anti-tubular brushborder antibody were injected into separate groups of rats to plant sheep IgG in the GBM and SE, respectively. Kidneys containing sheep IgG were then transplanted into naive recipients that were passively immunized with rat anti-sheep IgG. There was marked proteinuria after 2 days (antigen in GBM: 226 +/- 50.7; antigen in SE: 69 +/- 50.7 mg/24 hr) that was abrogated by prior depletion of complement in both groups (antigen in GBM: 10.2 +/- 1.7; antigen in SE: 14.3 +/- 8.7 mg/24 hr). When antigen was planted in SE, inflammatory-cell depletion with either anti-neutrophil (PMN) serum or lethal irradiation had no effect on proteinuria. In contrast, anti-PMN abolished proteinuria (12.0 +/- 5.6 mg/24 hr) and irradiation reduced it by 60% when antigen was in GBM. Glomeruli of kidneys with antigen in GBM were significantly larger and more hypercellular than those with antigen in SE after transplantation into immunized recipients. Endothelial cell injury and adherence of inflammatory cells to denuded GBM were prominent in the former (antigen in GBM), while glomeruli with antigen in SE showed only subepithelial deposits, adjacent slit-diaphragm displacement, and epithelial cell foot-process effacement. Thus, the reaction of antigen and antibody in glomeruli produced complement-mediated injury which was cell-independent when complex formation occurred on the outer aspect of the GBM but was cell-dependent when the same reagents reacted more proximally to the circulation. We therefore conclude that antigen distribution can critically influence the mediation and morphologic expression of immune glomerular injury and may, in part, account for variations in the clinical and histological manifestations of antibody-induced glomerular disease in humans.

A monoclonal antibody to a rat hepato-renal membrane antigen

A monoclonal antibody against a membrane glycoprotein of rat hepatocytes has been produced. The nature of this antibody designated as HAM.4 was analysed by cellular radioimmunoassay, flow cytofluorography and indirect immunoperoxidase procedures. The following characteristics of HAM.4 were elucidated. First, an immunohistochemical study revealed that this antibody stained preferentially the bile canalicular face of hepatocyte membrane. Secondly, HAM.4 cross-reacted with kidney, spleen and thymus as well as liver. The kidney expressed much more the antigen molecules detected by this antibody than the liver did. The antigen was located predominantly on the brush border of proximal tubules in kidney. Thus, HAM.4 would be useful for analysing one of the brush border antigens of renal tubules which has been thought to be a pathogenic antigen for inducing experimental membranous glomerulonephritis. Finally, HAM.4 failed to label the cell membrane of rat hepatoma cell lines examined, indicating that the antigen detected by HAM.4 may disappear from cell surface during the course of hepatocarcinogenesis.

The autoimmune response in active Heymann's nephritis in Lewis rats is regulated by T-lymphocyte subsets

In this study the cellular events which are responsible for the induction and suppression of active Heymann's nephritis (HN) in Lewis rats were investigated. Using an enzyme-linked short-term culture assay specific autoantibody production in vitro by lymphoid cells directed against the nephritogenic renal tubular epithelial glycoprotein (RTE-Gp) was measured. By this method it was shown that only the lymph nodes that drain the site of immunization contained autoreactive B cells. Pretreatment with cyclosporine A (Cy-A) or with multiple injections of high doses of antigen in Freund's incomplete adjuvant markedly inhibited the development of disease to a subsequent nephritogenic challenge. In challenged high-dose-tolerant (HDT) rats the autoimmune response was only 5-10% of immunized nontolerant rats. This tolerance could not be transferred by lymphoid cells from Cy-A-treated rats, but could be transferred by lymphoid cells derived from the thymus or spleen of HDT rats. Thus a suppressor cell of thymic origin may be responsible for HDT. Transfer of affinity column-fractionated splenic T cells from HDT rats demonstrated that OX8- helper and OX8+ suppressor T cells are involved in the induction and suppression, respectively, of the autoimmune response in this experimental nephropathy.

Biogenesis of the polymeric IgA receptor in rat hepatocytes. II. Localization of its intracellular forms by cell fractionation studies

In the companion paper (Sztul, E. S., K. E. Howell, and G. E. Palade, J. Cell Biol., 100:1248-1254), we have shown that pulse labeling of hepatic proteins with [35S]cysteine can be obtained in vivo in intact rats. Soluble label clears the plasma in approximately 5 min, and incorporated label reaches peak values in the liver approximately 20 min after injection. In the present study, we show that the 105,000-mol-wt protein (105K), kinetically the earliest intracellular form of secretory component (SC), is the predominant form found, between 5 and 20 min postinjection, in homogeneous rough microsomal fractions. The second kinetically defined form, i.e., 116K, is the predominant species present in relatively homogeneous, light Golgi fractions in which it appears at approximately 15 min, and peaks at approximately 25 min, postinjection. The third kinetically defined form, 120K, is found 30 min after injection as the major SC species (albeit still accompanied by its immediate precursor, 116K), in a sinusoidal plasmalemmal fraction isolated by immunoadsorption to anti-SC-coated Sepharose beads. These findings lead to the following conclusions: (a) SC is synthesized on polysomes attached to the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane; (b) it is partially translocated across the ER membrane and core glycosylated co-translationally to give a 105K peptide; (c) 105K moves from the ER to the Golgi complex where it is terminally glycosylated to give the 116K form; (d) the latter moves to the sinusoidal plasmalemma where it appears together with the final mature form, 120K. Kinetic evidence indicates that the vesicular carriers involved in the transport of SC from the Golgi complex to the sinusoidal plasmalemma, and from the latter to the biliary front of the hepatocytes, are present in a Golgi heavy fraction and a crude carrier vesicle fraction from which they remain to be isolated, purified, and characterized.

In vivo interaction of antibodies with cell surface antigens. A mechanism responsible for in situ formation of immune deposits in the zona pellucida of rabbit oocytes

It was the aim of this study to test the hypothesis that the interaction of antibodies with antigens expressed on the plasma membrane of cells surrounded by a basement membrane or a basement membrane-like structure results in in situ formation of immune deposits. Ovary was chosen for the experiments because we found that a well-characterized protein, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), is expressed in a diffuse pattern on the plasma membrane of mature oocytes. To investigate the events following the in vivo interaction of oolemma-ACE with its antibody, rabbits were injected with goat anti-rabbit ACE gamma-globulin or with Fab fragments of goat anti-rabbit ACE IgG in an ear vein for a maximum of 4 d; they were followed for up to 20 d thereafter. Ovary tissue was studied by immunofluorescence, and immunoelectron, light, and transmission electron microscopy. The results of this study document two new findings: First, that ACE is expressed on the oolemma of rabbit oocytes. Second, that the in vivo interaction of divalent antibodies to this cell surface antigen induces formation of granular immune deposits in the adjacent zona pellucida through a mechanism of "patching" and "shedding" of immune complexes, similar to that occurring in in vitro systems characterized by interaction of plasma membrane receptors with soluble ligands. This mechanism might have importance in the pathogenesis of Heymann glomerulonephritis and of other immunological diseases involving antigens expressed on the plasma membrane of cells.

Reduced sialylation of podocalyxin--the major sialoprotein of the rat kidney glomerulus--in aminonucleoside nephrosis

In this study the sugar composition of podocalyxin was determined in puromycin aminonucleoside-treated (PAN) rats and controls. Podocalyxin from both control and PAN rats bound 125I-WGA and 125I-peanut lectin (the latter only after neuraminidase treatment) on nitrocellulose transfers. Purified podocalyxin from both control and PAN rats was found to contain sialic acid, Gal, GlcNac, and Man but lacked Fuc and GalNac by gas-liquid chromatography. In PAN rats the sialic acid content of podocalyxin was reduced from 4.5% to 1.5%, whereas the concentration of the other sugars (with the possible exception of Gal) was similar to that of controls. The density of podocalyxin on the epithelial cell surface was estimated after immunogold labeling with anti-podocalyxin IgG, and no differences were found between PAN rats and controls. These data indicate that the reduced total glomerular sialic acid content found in PAN is due to the combined effects of the decreased podocyte plasmalemmal surface area and the reduced sialic acid content of podocalyxin.

Abnormal embryonic development induced by antibodies to rat visceral yolk-sac endoderm: isolation of the antigen and localization to microvillar membrane

An antigenic substance was isolated from rat visceral yolk-sac endoderm of the 18th-20th days of gestation by extraction with the nonionic detergent Nonidet P-40, Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration, and Ricinus communis agglutinin affinity chromatography. The rabbit antiserum directed against this antigenic substance when injected into pregnant rats during the period of organogenesis caused abnormal embryonic development, fetal growth retardation, and embryonic death. Ouchterlony gel diffusion analysis demonstrated that the antiserum formed one immunoprecipitin band against the crude detergent extract and a complete identity between the present visceral yolk-sac antigen and the renal glycoprotein antigen previously isolated (C. C. K. Leung, (1982) J. Exp. Med. 156, 372-384). The antigen eluted from the antibody affinity column appeared to consist of two major peptides of 60 and 30 kDa when analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Indirect immunofluorescent and immunoperoxidase localization studies at the light microscopic level demonstrated that both rat renal proximal tubule and embryonic visceral yolk-sac endoderm at various gestational stages (including the organogenetic period) shared the same antigen. Indirect immunoperoxidase localization studies at the electron microscopic level demonstrated that the antigen was a part of (or associated with) the microvillar membrane and membrane invaginations at the base of the microvilli of the renal proximal tubule and visceral yolk-sac endoderm. In vivo immunoperoxidase localization studies demonstrated that the teratogenic antibodies localized within the large phagolysosomes and the apical vesicles of the visceral yolk-sac endoderm. It is postulated that visceral yolk-sac pathology was induced by the antibodies.

Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies against rat brush border antigens of the proximal convoluted tubule

In order to understand further the processes involved in immunological injury of the kidney, we have prepared monoclonal antibodies against brush border (BB) antigens of rat proximal tubule. The 27 antibodies which constitute the basis of this report have been cloned, characterized immunochemically, and classified in three specificity groups on the basis of tissue reactivity. The first group is made up of six antibodies reacting with antigens simultaneously present on BB and glomerulus: three are directed against a high molecular weight (MW) protein which migrates with an apparent MW of 330,000; two react with a 90,000 MW protein that is present diffusely on renal and intestinal BB as well as on endothelial cells; one recognizes an antigen exclusively present on superficial tubules and glomerular epithelial cells, which could not be chemically characterized. The second group is made up of eight antibodies present on renal and intestinal BB: five react with a 120,000 MW antigen, one with a 300,000 MW antigen. The third group comprises 13 antibodies. Two are directed against antigens present within the cytoplasm or the basolateral membranes of renal tubules. Eleven react with intracellular antigens probably related to the cytoskeleton. Since they have been identified through several fusions, some of the monoclonal antibodies described are probably directed against immunodominant proteins of the BB. They open new possibilities for purifying the corresponding antigens by affinity chromatography as well as for obtaining BB preparations selectively depleted of the strongest immunogens thus favouring antibody production to previously unrecognized antigens.

Simultaneous anti-glomerular basement membrane and membranous glomerulonephritis: case report and literature review

A 20-year-old male experienced a sore throat, fever, and lumbar pain. Examination revealed haematuria, proteinuria, and transiently impaired renal function. Renal biopsy revealed minor mesangial widening and small cellular crescents in 20% of the glomeruli under the light microscope, whereas immunofluorescence showed bright, linear staining of IgG along the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). Ultrastructural analysis showed minute subepithelial deposits analogous to early membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN). Anti-GBM antibodies were detected in the patient's serum. These findings were suggestive of simultaneous anti-GBM and immune complex glomerulonephritis in a patient with a mild, reversible renal illness.

Presence of an extensive clathrin coat on the apical plasmalemma of the rat kidney proximal tubule cell

The nature of the cytoplasmic coat present on the apical invaginations of the kidney proximal tubule cell was investigated by immuneoverlay and immunocytochemistry of renal brush borders with anticlathrin antibodies. When kidney cortex was prepared for electron microscopy using methods that enhance visualization of clathrin coats, the apical invaginations at the base of the brush border microvilli were seen to be backed by a nearly continuous coating which resembles but is more extensive than the lattice-like clathrin coats found around brain coated vesicles. When isolated brush border fractions were prepared under conditions that preserve the coats, separated by SDS PAGE, and transferred to nitrocellulose, the presence of clathrin heavy and light chains was detected by immuneoverlay using two different affinity-purified anticlathrin IgGs--one that we prepared, which detects only the clathrin light chains, and the other, prepared by Louvard et al. ( Louvard , D., C. Morris, G. Warren, K. Stanley, F. Winkler , and H. Reggio , 1983, EMBO [Eur. Mol. Biol. Organ.] J., 2:1655-1664), which detects both the heavy and light chains. As viewed by light microscopy (immunofluorescence or immunoperoxidase), staining with both anticlathrins was concentrated at the base of the proximal tubule microvilli. Immunoelectron microscopic localizations carried out on brush border fractions (using peroxidase and gold conjugates) demonstrated specific binding of anticlathrin IgGs to the lattice-like cytoplasmic coat. When brush border fractions were reacted with monoclonal antibodies prepared against gp330 and maltase, proteins that serve as markers for the membrane of the apical invaginations and microvilli, respectively ( Kerjaschki , D., L. Noronha - Blob , B. Sacktor , and M. G. Farquhar , 1984, J. Cell Biol., 98:1505-1513), the two proteins retained their restrictive distribution in the brush border. The findings demonstrate (a) that the cytoplasmic coat of the proximal tubule intermicrovillar apical invaginations is composed of clathrin heavy and light chains, and (b) that the differential distribution of proteins in these two brush border microdomains is maintained in appropriately prepared brush border fractions.

Passively transferred anti-brush border antibodies induce injury of proximal tubules in the absence of complement

In active Heymann nephritis, antibodies directed against the brush border membrane of proximal tubules are able, when deposited in vivo, to cause substantial damage to the tubule epithelium. Prominent features of the lesion include fragmentation and loss of microvilli and proliferation of epithelial cells. Passive transfer of anti-brush border serum to appropriate proteinuric recipients also leads to proximal tubule pathology. In experiments reported here, full expression of the damage was observed in complement deficient recipients of passively transferred anti-brush border serum. A complement-independent process initiated by cross-linking of membrane determinants, which is analogous to the stimulation of B cell proliferation following cross-linking of Ig receptors by appropriate ligands, could account for the pathogenicity of anti-brush border serum.

Identification and characterization of podocalyxin--the major sialoprotein of the renal glomerular epithelial cell

The glomerular epithelial polyanion is a specialized cell surface component found on renal glomerular epithelial cells (podocytes) that is rich in sialoprotein(s), as detected by staining with cationic dyes (colloidal iron, alcian blue) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). We have isolated rat glomeruli and analyzed their protein composition by SDS PAGE in 5-10% gradient gels. When the gels were stained with alcian blue or "Stains All," a single band with an apparent Mr of 140,000 was detected that also stained very prominently with silver, but not with Coomassie Blue. This band predominated in fluorograms of gels of isolated glomeruli that had been labeled in their sialic acid residues by periodate-[3H]borohydride. In lectin overlays, the 140-kilodalton (kd) band was virtually the only one that bound [125I]wheat germ agglutinin, and this binding could be prevented by predigestion with neuraminidase. [125I]Peanut lectin bound exclusively to the 140-kd band after neuraminidase treatment. An antibody was prepared that specifically recognizes only the 140-kd band by immunoprecipitation and immuneoverlay. By immunoperoxidase and immunogold techniques, it was localized to the surface coat of the glomerular epithelium and, less extensively, to that of endothelial cells. When analyzed (after electroelution from preparative SDS gels), the 140-kd band was found to contain approximately 20% hexose and approximately 4.5% sialic acid. These findings indicate that the 140-kd protein is the major sialoprotein of the glomerulus, and it is the only component of glomerular lysates with an affinity for cationic dyes and lectins identical to that defined histochemically for the epithelial polyanion in situ. Since this molecule is a major component of the cell coat or glycocalyx of the podocytes, we have called it "podocalyxin."

Microdomains of distinctive glycoprotein composition in the kidney proximal tubule brush border

Two membrane proteins, maltase and gp330 (the pathogenic antigen of Heymann nephritis), present in the proximal tubule brush border have recently been independently purified and found to be large glycoproteins of similar molecular weight (Mr = approximately 300,000) by SDS PAGE. To determine the relationship between the two, monoclonal antibodies raised against the purified proteins were used for comparative immunochemical analyses and immunocytochemical localization. When a detergent extract of [35S]methionine-labeled rat renal cortex was used for immunoprecipitation with monoclonal antimaltase IgG, a single band of approximately 300 kdaltons was precipitated, whereas a single 330-kdalton band was precipitated with monoclonal anti-gp330 IgG. Monoclonal antimaltase (gp300) IgG also immunoprecipitated maltase activity from solubilized renal maltase preparations, whereas monoclonal anti-gp330 IgG failed to do so. When cyanogen bromide-generated peptide maps of the two proteins were compared, there were many similar peptides, but some differences. When maltase and gp330 were localized by indirect immunofluorescence and by indirect immunoperoxidase and immunogold techniques at the electron microscope level, they were found to be differently distributed in the brush border of the initial (S1 and S2) segments of the proximal tubule: maltase was concentrated (approximately 90%) on the microvilli, and gp330 was concentrated (approximately 90%) in the clathrin-coated apical invaginations located at the base of the microvilli. We conclude that maltase (gp300) and the Heymann nephritis antigen (gp330) are structurally related membrane glycoproteins with a distinctive distribution in the proximal tubule brush border which may serve as markers for the microvillar and coated microdomains, respectively, of the apical plasmalemma.

A monoclonal antibody to brush border and passive Heymann nephritis

An IgG2a monoclonal antibody (MoAb) reacting with the brush border of the renal proximal tubule and glomerular capillary wall was produced by fusion of NS1 myeloma cells with spleen cells from BALB/c mice immunized with renal brush border preparations from rat kidney cortex. This antibody reacts with a 90,000 mol. wt protein which can be isolated by immunoprecipitation of radiolabelled brush border or glomerular preparations and localized on these structures by immunoperoxidase electron microscopy, thus demonstrating the presence of common antigenic determinants. Survey of various organs showed that the MoAb reacted with the brush border of the gut, but also with antigens associated with the distal vascular system. In the liver antigenic determinants were located along the sinusoid walls but mainly on bile canaliculi. Specific glomerular binding could be demonstrated in vivo by immunofluorescence after an intravenous injection of 2 mg of antibody or by paired label methodology using tracer amounts. Kinetics however were dramatically different from those observed in classical passive Heymann nephritis since glomerular binding was transient during the first hours after injection. Binding was also found in tubular structures, as well as in lung, liver, spleen and heart. These results identify a well defined antigen-antibody system responsible for the formation of transient extramembranous glomerular deposits and may be relevant to some human cases of glomerulonephritis. They may also provide new models to study glomerular and tubular transfer of membrane bound antibodies.

Factors influencing susceptibility of LEW rats to Heymann nephritis

Although most LEW rats develop the proteinuria of Heymann nephritis (HN) within 2 months after immunization with Fx1A, protein excretion of some animals remains normal. We have compared nonproteinuric rats with those that developed HN in order to identify factors that influence susceptibility to immunologically medicated kidney disease. In the primary response to Fx1A, immunofluorescence tests showed that antibrush border titers in serum and immunoglobulin deposition in vivo were similar in all rats. However, complement was detected only in rats with proteinuria. Reimmunization with Fx1A at 30 weeks stimulated anamnestic antibody responses in all rats. Following reimmunization, 60% of nonproteinuric rats developed severe HN with an unusually rapid (1 week) onset. Once again, complement was present only in glomeruli of rats with proteinuria. It appears that titers of antibodies to brush border, measured by immunofluorescence tests, are not an index of the pathogenicity of the immune response to Fx1A. Immunological memory, leading to rapid expression of autoimmune disease upon reexposure to antigen, can be established by a primary immunization that does not produce clinical symptoms. Abnormal urine protein composition may provide a clue to subclinical immunopathology of the kidney.

The mannose-6-phosphate receptor for lysosomal enzymes is concentrated in cis Golgi cisternae

Mannose-6-phosphate (Man-6-P) receptors for lysosomal enzymes were localized by immunocytochemistry in several secretory and adsorptive cell types using monospecific antireceptor antibodies. By immunofluorescence, the receptors were found in the Golgi region of polarized cells. When localized by immunoperoxidase at the electron microscope level, they were detected in Golgi cisternae, coated vesicles, endosomes, and lysosomes of all cell types examined (hepatocytes, exocrine pancreatic and epididymal epithelia). Within the Golgi complex, immunoreactive receptors were restricted in their distribution to one or two cisternae on the cis side of the Golgi stacks. They were not detected in trans Golgi or GERL cisternae. Based on their high concentration of Man-6-P receptors, we propose that the cis Golgi cisternae represent the site where the secretory and lysosomal pathways diverge: lysosomal enzymes bearing the Man-6-P recognition marker bind to Man-6-P receptors in this location and are delivered to endosomes and lysosomes via coated vesicles.

Lung injury mediated by antibodies to endothelium. I. In the rabbit a repeated interaction of heterologous anti-angiotensin-converting enzyme antibodies with alveolar endothelium results in resistance to immune injury through antigenic modulation

To study the effects of relatively long-term interaction of antibodies with surface antigens of lung endothelium, rabbits were intravenously injected for a maximum of 4 d with goat anti-rabbit lung angiotensin-converting enzyme (Gt anti-RbACE) antibodies. On day 1 69%, on day 2 13%, and on days 3 and 4 of injection none of the rabbits developed lethal pulmonary edema. By immunofluorescence microscopy, deposits of GtIgG, frequently in association with RbC3, were found along the endothelium of alveolar capillary walls in all rabbits studied on day 1, in 57% on day 2, in 33% on day 3, and in none of them on day 4. While in vitro anti-ACE antibodies bound in a linear pattern to the lung endothelium, the binding pattern in vivo was distinctly granular. The in vivo interaction of antibodies with ACE also redistributed ACE in a granular pattern along capillary walls. In contrast to the granular deposition of injected anti-ACE IgG and F(ab')2 fragments of anti-ACE IgG, Fab fragments of anti-ACE IgG localized, without fixing C3, in a linear pattern along the endothelium of lung capillaries and did not modify the normal distribution of ACE. However, when the injection of Fab fragments of Gt anti-RbACE IgG was followed by an injection of Rb anti-GtIgG serum, granular deposits of Gt Fab fragments, RbIgG and RbC3 were seen along alveolar capillary walls. Biochemical measurement of ACE activity in lung homogenates provided data in agreement with those obtained by immunofluorescence microscopy, showing diminished activity to none on day 4, with some return of ACE activity on day 5, 24 h after the last injection of antibody, and normal values on day 21. The results obtained indicate that divalent antibodies to an antigen expressed on the plasma membrane of rabbit lung endothelial cells promotes a rapid redistribution of antigenic receptors, fixation of complement and, in surviving rabbits, disappearance of the antigen from the endothelial cells that are no longer susceptible to immune injury. In vivo "immunologic enzymectomy" induced by a ligand-surface antigen interaction is an example of antigenic modulation. These events may have an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory lesions induced by antibodies reacting with antigens expressed on the plasma membrane of cells in the lung and in other organs.

Role of the terminal complement pathway in experimental membranous nephropathy in the rabbit

Our recent observations of a complement-mediated, cell-independent mechanism of altered glomerular permeability in rat membranous nephropathy suggested a possible role for the terminal complement pathway in the mediation of proteinuria in certain forms of glomerular disease. To directly determine whether the membranolytic terminal complement components (C5b-C9) are involved in glomerular injury, we studied the development of proteinuria in normal and C6-deficient (C6D) rabbits, in both of which a membranous nephropathy-like lesion develops early in the course of immunization with cationized bovine serum albumin (cBSA) (pI 8.9-9.2). C6 hemolytic activity of C6D was 0.01% that of control rabbits. After 1 wk of daily intravenous injections of cBSA, proteinuria developed in 71% of controls (median 154, range 1-3,010 mg/24 h, n = 24), whereas none of C6D were proteinuric (median 6, range 2-12 mg/24 h, n = 12, P less than 0.01). After 1 wk of cBSA, both groups had qualitatively identical glomerular deposits of BSA, rabbit IgG, and C3 on immunofluorescence microscopy, predominantly subepithelial electron-dense deposits on electron microscopy, and minimal glomerular inflammatory cell infiltration of glomeruli. Glomeruli were isolated from individual animals after 1 wk of cBSA and deposits of rabbit IgG antibody were quantitated by a standardized in vitro assay using anti-rabbit IgG-125I. Rabbit IgG deposits were found to be similar in control (29.8 +/- 13.2, range 12.7-48.6 micrograms anti-IgG/2,000 glomeruli, n = 6) and C6D rabbits (32.6 +/- 13.8, range 16.8-48.8 micrograms anti-IgG/2,000 glomeruli, n = 5, P greater than 0.05). After 2 wk, coincident with a prominent influx of mononuclear cells and neutrophils, proteinuria developed in C6D rabbits. These results document, for the first time, a requirement for a terminal complement component in the development of immunologic glomerular injury. Since the only known action of C6 is in the assembly of the membrane attack complex, these observations suggest that the membranolytic properties of complement may contribute to glomerular damage.