IDENTIFICATION OF ??3, ??4, AND ??5 CHAINS OF TYPE IV COLLAGEN AS ALLOANTIGENS FOR ALPORT POSTTRANSPLANT ANTI-GLOMERULAR BASEMENT MEMBRANE ANTIBODIES

These results suggest that the absence of alpha3, alpha4, and alpha5 chains of type IV collagen in the Alport kidney leads to alloantibodies in all Alport patients who receive transplants, irrespective of whether they develop nephritis or not. Although all Alport transplant patients develop this humoral response, only a select few develop anti-GBM disease. We suggest that this difference could be attributable to a genotypic effect on the ability of some individuals to launch a cell-mediated immune response.