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Glomerulonephritis

Noninvasive method to monitor disease activity in lupus nephritis

Nature Reviews Nephrology volume 7, page 678 (2011)Cite this article

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A new study has shown that an MRI-based approach to detect C3 deposits in the kidneys can be used to noninvasively monitor disease activity in a mouse model of lupus nephritis.

A contrast agent based on nanoparticles conjugated to a chimeric molecule that targets deposited C3 fragments was injected into MRL/lpr and control mice at 12, 16, 20 and 24 weeks of age. MRI was carried out before and 48 h after each injection. The magnitude of the decrease in T2 relaxation times after injection (the 'negative enhancement') increased as the MRL/lpr mice aged, indicating that more of the nanoparticles bound within the diseased kidneys. Therefore, MRI contrast agents targeted to C3 fragments might be useful for monitoring disease activity in glomerulonephritis.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Sargsyan, S. A. et al. Detection of glomerular complement C3 fragments by magnetic resonance imaging in murine lupus nephritis. Kidney Int. doi:10.1038/ki.2011.332

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Authors
  1. Helene Myrvang
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Myrvang, H. Noninvasive method to monitor disease activity in lupus nephritis. Nat Rev Nephrol 7, 678 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2011.166

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2011.166

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