Recurrence of antiglomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis in sheep renal allografts

Renal autografts and allografts were placed in the necks of nephrectomized sheep. Some of the sheep which received allografts had been previously injected with human glomerular basement membrane to induce an autoimmune antiglomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis. All previously diseased and normal recipient animals were treated wtih azathioprine and prednisone from the day before transplantation. The autografts and immunosuppressed allografts in normal recipients functioned similarly for the first 6 d, but subsequently the allografts deteriorated. Allografts in untreated recipients functioned for less than 3 d. Most (90%) of the allografts in previously diseased sheep developed heavy proteinuria and haematuria immediately after transplantation and their renal function remained low. These grafts showed severe glomerular lesions by the third day, and by 8 d more than 50% of the glomeruli contained crescents. At corresponding intervals the glomeruli of autografts and allografts in normal recipients showed only minor changes. These results demonstrate that antiglomerular basement antibodies circulating in the host at the time of transplantation are a significant threat to the survival of renal allografts.