IgE in patients with glomerulonephritis and minimal-change nephrotic syndrome.

Serum levels of IgE were studied in 30 children with minimal-change nephrotic syndrome and 32 children with mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis during different stages of the disease and treatment. In addition, tissue obtained by renal biopsy was investigated by immunofluorescence histology; no deposits of IgE could be found. The serum IgE levels, however, were increased, particularly in patients with minimal-change nephrotic syndrome. It is concluded that IgE does not play a pathogenic role in the development of the renal disease, but that increased IgE levels are an indication of a disturbance of the immune system.