Anti-Phospholipase A2 Receptor Antibodies in Biopsy-Proven Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy: A Report from the Pakistani Population

This study aimed to determine the percentage of anti-phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) autoantibody positivity in a cross-section of 74 Pakistani patients with biopsy-proven idiopathic membranous nephropathy. It was an observational study conducted from December 2018 to June 2019. Seventy-four (n=74) consecutive biopsy-proven cases of membranous nephropathy, aged between 12-60 years, were included. Out of them, 63.5% (n=47) were males and 36.5% (n=27) were females. The mean age was 40.2±16.7 years. Anti-PLA2R antibodies were positive in 35 (47.3%) patients, negative in 38 (51.4%) patients, and borderline positive in 1(1.35%) patient. A significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) was noted among different levels of antibodies in both genders. Anti-PLA2R antibodies were detected in approximately half of the diagnosed idiopathic membranous nephropathy cases. However, this percentage was much lower than the studies conducted on other populations around the globe, indicating a possible pathogenic role of other antigens in our population.