MODULATING EFFECT OF GELONIN GP330 CONJUGATE ON HEYMANNS NEPHRITIS INDUCED IN RATS - A PATHOMORPHOLOGICAL EVALUATION

Heymann's nephritis (HN) in rats induced by injecting renal proximal t ubule brush border protein gp330, is an animal model replicating human autoimmune membranous glomerulonephritis(1). Endogenous IgG gets depo sited between the foot processes in the epithelial side of the glomeru lus and causes complement-mediated membrane injury, leading to protein uria and basement membrane thickening. We investigated the effect of a toxin, gelonin conjugated to gp330 and targetted against antigp330-pr oducing cells in ameliorating immune injury and nephrotic state in rat s. The groups of animals injected with purified gp330 revealed by immu nofluorescence, characteristic granular deposits of IgG along the base ment membrane. The rats intravenously injected with gelonin gp330 conj ugate, four days after the antigenic challenge with gp330 in two doses , showed amelioration of the nephrotic state and appreciable reduction in glomerular IgG deposits against immune injury. This substantiates our earlier biochemical results and corroborates the possibility of us ing toxins conjugated to specific antigen in treating antibody-mediate d autoimmune diseases.