Am. Herzenberg et al., Heavy chain deposition disease: Recurrence in a renal transplant and report of IgG(2) subtype, AM J KIDNEY, 35(5), 2000, pp. E251-E255
Heavy chain deposition disease (HCDD) is a rare entity characterized by tis
sue deposition of monoclonal heavy chains without light chains. Previous re
ports of HCDD include gamma(1)-, gamma(3)-, gamma(4)-, and alpha-heavy chai
n subtypes. Renal transplantation for HCDD has not been previously reported
. We report a case of gamma(2)-HCDD in a 67-year-old patient who presented
with proteinuria, hematuria, and renal insufficiency and progressed to end-
stage renal failure after 6 months. The second case involves a 26-year-old
woman who had a renal transplant for HCDD and recurrent gamma(1)-HCDD in th
e transplant. Neither patient had myeloma. The complete spectrum of gamma-H
CDD subtypes has now been reported. Further data are required to make concl
usive statements about the true recurrence rate of HCDD in renal transplant
s. (C) 2000 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.