CLINICO-PATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF TUBULO-INTERSTITIAL LESIONS IN MEMBRANOUS NEPHROPATHY

Morphometric investigations of tubulo-interstitial lesions (TIL) were performed in 78 patients with membranous nephropathy. A semi-automatic image analysis system (Leitz Co.) was used for assessment of the TIL in biopsied specimens. The degree of TIL was expressed as the percentage of the damaged area in the cortical interstitium. The measured value of TIL was compared with various clinical indices at the time of biopsy and at final follow-up. TIL in the renal cortex was positively correlated with the serum creatinine level, but it was negatively correlated with endogenous creatinine clearance. TIL was not correlated with severty of glomeruler lesion, urinary protein, or hematuria. The incidence of impaired renal function at the final follow-up increased with the value of TIL. Thus, semiquantitative evaluation of TIL in the renal cortex was considered to be useful in assessing renal function, as well as in the prognosis of membranous nephropathy