Introduction:
IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common glomerular disease worldwide, frequently leading to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). While renal biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis, identification of reliable non-invasive biomarkers for disease monitoring and prognosis is warranted
Methods:
This study investigated the serum levels of galactose-deficient IgA1 (Gd-IgA1) and their correlation with complement component C3 in 98 patients with histologically confirmed IgAN, 44 patients with non-IgA glomerulopathies, and 53 healthy controls. Serum Gd-IgA1 levels were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and their association with clinical and pathological parameters was assessed.
Results:
Patients with IgAN exhibited significantly elevated serum Gd-IgA1 levels (190.61 ± 90.80 pg/mL) compared to those with non-IgAN (114.43 ± 76.39 pg/mL) and healthy controls (121.87 ± 25.8 pg/mL) (p < 0.001). A strong correlation was observed between Gd-IgA1 and C3 levels (r = 0.33, p = 0.01) and the Gd-IgA1/C3 ratio (r = 0.85, p < 0.001). However, no significant correlation was found between Gd-IgA1 levels and other clinical parameters such as eGFR and proteinuria. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that Gd-IgA1 could moderately predict IgAN with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.78.
Conclusions:
Elevated serum Gd-IgA1 levels, particularly in conjunction with C3, serve as a promising biomarker for diagnosing and monitoring IgAN. The Gd-IgA1/C3 ratio could offer additional prognostic value, warranting further investigation in larger, longitudinal studies.
I have potential conflict of interest to disclose.
This study was performed on a research grant given under the Multidisciplinary Research Unit (MRU) scheme of the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India
I did not use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process.