Autoantibodies Targeting a Collecting Duct–Specific Water Channel in Tubulointerstitial Nephritis

Landegren N, Pourmousa Lindberg M, Skov J, Hallgren Å, Eriksson D, Lisberg Toft-Bertelsen T, MacAulay N, Hagforsen E, Räisänen-Sokolowski A, Saha H, Nilsson T, Nordmark G, Ohlsson S, Gustafsson J, Husebye ES, Larsson E, Anderson MS, Perheentupa J, Rorsman F, Fenton RA, Kämpe O

J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 27 (10) 3220-3228 [2016-10-00; online 2016-03-16]

Tubulointerstitial nephritis is a common cause of kidney failure and may have diverse etiologies. This form of nephritis is sometimes associated with autoimmune disease, but the role of autoimmune mechanisms in disease development is not well understood. Here, we present the cases of three patients with autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 who developed tubulointerstitial nephritis and ESRD in association with autoantibodies against kidney collecting duct cells. One of the patients developed autoantibodies targeting the collecting duct-specific water channel aquaporin 2, whereas autoantibodies of the two other patients reacted against the HOXB7 or NFAT5 transcription factors, which regulate the aquaporin 2 promoter. Our findings suggest that tubulointerstitial nephritis developed in these patients as a result of an autoimmune insult on the kidney collecting duct cells.

Affinity Proteomics Uppsala [Service]

PLA and Single Cell Proteomics [Service]

PubMed 26984885

DOI 10.1681/asn.2015101126

Crossref 10.1681/asn.2015101126

pmc: PMC5042672
pii: ASN.2015101126