Kidney biopsy findings in ANCA vasculitis
What are the histologic findings of a kidney biopsy in patients with ANCA vasculitis?
Kidney biopsy usually demonstrates the presence of focal segmental to global fibrinoid necrosis and crescent formation affecting variable proportions of glomeruli.
By both immunoflorescence and electron microscopy, glomeruli demonstrate few or no immune depositions, lending to the term pauci-immune glomerulonephritis, and distinguishing ANCA vasculitis from other diseases that may produce similar features by light microscopy, such as anti-GBM disease or immune complex-mediated glomerulonephritis (e.g., lupus nephritis).
The glomerular lesions are usually associated with little or no endocapillary proliferation.
