Macrophage Chemotaxis in Anti-tubular Basement Membrane-Induced Interstitial Nephritis in Guinea Pigs

Interstitial renal lesions containing T cells and macrophages develop after 14 days in guinea pigs immunized to produce anti-tubular basement membrane-induced interstitial nephritis. We serially examined the renal venous and systemic arterial sera from such animals to determine if chemotactic factors were released across their kidneys. Our findings demonstrated the presence of a macrophage-specific renal chemoattractant with peak detectability on Days 10-14, just subsequent to the deposition of αTBM-Ab, but prior to the development of significant renal injury. We propose that such factors may provide important communication signals in the immunopathogenesis of this form of interstitial injury.