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Review
. 2021 Mar 14;10(6):1205.
doi: 10.3390/jcm10061205.

Membranous Nephropathy: From Research Bench to Personalized Care

Barbara Moszczuk  1   2 , Krzysztof Kiryluk  3 , Leszek Pączek  1   4 , Krzysztof Mucha  1   4
Affiliations
Review

Membranous Nephropathy: From Research Bench to Personalized Care

Barbara Moszczuk et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Membranous nephropathy is a glomerulopathy that causes nephrotic syndrome and, in at least a third of cases, lasting end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). It is also a rare case of revolutionary changes in our understanding of the disease, that translates from scientific findings to real diagnosis and treatment recommendations in less than ten years. In this review we present: (1) a short history and traditional approach to patients with membranous nephropathy, (2) current recommendations and treatment options that have emerged in recent years, (3) findings of new studies, with a particular focus on serological/immunological methods, genomic and proteomic studies, still requiring validation. With further development in this field, membranous nephropathy may become one of the first nephrological conditions that apply a truly personalized approach with the omission of invasive measures such as kidney biopsy.

Keywords: PLA2R; glomerulonephritis; membranous nephropathy; personalized medicine; proteomics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest related to this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 3
Figure 3
A proposed decision-making algorithm for a patient with nephrotic syndrome. Based on de Vriese and Bomback [29,30].
Figure 1
Figure 1
A study by Meyer-Schweinger and Tomas proved that antibodies against phospholipase A2 associated receptor 1 (PLA2R) cause primary membranous nephropathy. Immunoglobulin G (IgG).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Traditional approach to a patient with MN-related proteinuria.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Possible future approach to a patient with nephrotic syndrome.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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