ABSTRACT
AIM: To explore the significance of measuring urinary complement C5b-9 complex in various types of immune complex (IC) nephritis models of rats. METHODS: The four models of rats, namely, passive Heymann nephritis (PHN), anti-thymocyte serum nephritis(ATSN), anti-glomerular basement membrane nephritis (AGBMN) and chronic serum disease nephritis (CSDN) were reproduced. Then, the contents of complement C5b-9 complex in plasma and urine of the rats were detected with sandwich ELISA. And the deposits of C5b-9 complex in glomeruli of the rats were examined by ABC immunohistochemistry staining. RESULTS: The contents of rat plasma C5b-9 were elevated and deposits of C5b-9 in glomeruli could be detected in the four model rats. But the increased urinary excretion of C5b-9 was observed only in PHN rats. Moreover, the time of urinary C5b-9 complex excretion was earlier than that of urinary protein in the rats with PHN. CONCLUSION: Urinary C5b-9 complex excretion could be taken as one of several sensitive immunologic parameters in diagnosing of PHN and in distinguishing PHN from other type of nephritis.