Membranous Glomerulonephritis: Virus-Like Inclusions in Glomerular Basement Membrane

Excerpt

To the editor: Although numerous reports have been published on viral-like particles inside glomerular endothelial cells in collagen diseases (1-3), only rarely have such particles been found in the glomerular basement membranes in patients with nephrotic syndrome (4, 5). We report here finding numerous viral-like inclusion bodies within the glomerular basement membranes in two additional patients with nephrotic syndrome.

PATIENT 1 A 45-year-old white woman was admitted in 1968 with a 7-year history of intermittent swelling of the body. Laboratory studies showed a 24-hour urine protein excretion of 6.6 g, a serum albumin of 2.7 g/100 ml, and a serum