Clinical significance of exostosin 1 in confirmed and suspected lupus membranous nephropathy

Objective This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of exostosin 1 (EXT1) in confirmed and suspected lupus membranous nephropathy (LMN).Methods EXT1 was detected in 67 renal tissues of M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R)-negative and ANA-positive membranous nephropathy by immunohistochemistry, and cases were divided into confirmed LMN and suspected LMN. The clinicopathological data were compared among the above groups, as well as EXT1-positive group and EXT1-negative group.Results Twenty-two cases (73.3%) of confirmed LMN and six cases (16.2%) of suspected LMN exhibited EXT1 expression on the glomerular basement membrane and/or mesangium area, showing a significant difference (p