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Balkan Nephropathy (BN) is defined as a clinical entity with unknown etiology. The involvement of immune system in pathogenesis of BN is not well defined yet. The aim of this study was to gain more insight into the cellular immune mechanisms in BN. We determined some factors implied in cellular immunity, such as the serum level of IL-2 and of IL-2 soluble receptor (sIL-2R), and the presence of IL-2 receptor alpha chain (CD25) on T cells membrane. The study was performed on 15 patients with BN, 15 patients with Chronic Pyelonephritis (CPN), and 10 healthy controls from a non-endemic area. Our study showed no significant differences between IL-2 level and CD25+ cells percentage in CPN compared to controls, but a significantly increased level of sIL-2R. The BN sIL-2R is significantly lower than sIL-2R in CPN, and associates an important T cell activation (high CD25+ presence, elevated IL-2 level) compared to CPN. Our conclusion is that while the high sIL-2R level could down modulate T cell activity in CPN, BN sIL-2R level is ineffective in limiting the activation effects of IL-2 on T cells. The results suggest that cellular immunity could have a role in the pathogenesis of N.

Balkanic Nephropathy (BN) is characterized by: an incidence limited to a geographic area; a familial character and a slow progressive evolution towards chronic renal failure associated with the symmetrical reduction of the kidney size. The aim of our study was to find out the immune alterations in BN pathology. The analysis of various subpopulations of peripheral lymphocytes obtained from patients with BN showed no quantitative differences in comparison with healthy subjects and healthy subjects from the endemic area. In the BN patients we identified a novel subset of the CD3+, CD16+, CD56+ cells expressing the phenotypic characteristics of both T lymphocytes and NK cells.