Fibrillary Glomerulonephritis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Case Series

TL;DR

This paper reports two cases of a rare kidney disease called fibrillary glomerulonephritis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, highlighting a potential link and successful treatment with rituximab.

Contribution

The study presents new evidence of a possible association between SLE and FGN, and demonstrates rituximab's efficacy in treating this rare condition.

Findings

Two SLE patients with FGN achieved remission or improved kidney function after rituximab treatment.

Both cases showed positive DNAJB9 immunostaining, supporting a potential link between SLE and FGN.

This is the first published evidence of rituximab's safety and efficacy in treating SLE-associated FGN.

Abstract

Fibrillary glomerulonephritis (FGN) is a rare glomerular disease characterized by the deposition of nonamyloid, typically Congo red-negative fibrils within the glomerular basement membrane and mesangium. Although the pathogenesis of FGN remains incompletely understood, several autoimmune conditions have been associated with its development, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The co-occurrence of SLE and FGN is rare, and the underlying pathophysiologic link, if any, remains poorly understood. We report 2 cases of biopsy-proven FGN with positive DnaJ homolog subfamily B member 9 (DNAJB9) immunostaining in patients with established SLE, one with concurrent membranous lupus nephritis (LN) and the other without LN. Both patients were treated with rituximab, achieving complete proteinuria remission with preserved kidney function in one case and improved creatinine levels in the other. Three cases of SLE-associated FGN with positive DNAJB9 staining have been previously reported. Two others have been described as such, but without documentation of relevant clinical details such as DNAJB9 status, making them unsuitable for the current discussion. Our cases add to the literature supporting a potential association between SLE and FGN and represent the first published evidence of the safety and efficacy of rituximab in this rare condition.

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