Results of a nation-wide cohort study suggest favorable long-term outcomes of clone-targeted chemotherapy in immunotactoid glomerulopathy

Abstract

Immunotactoid glomerulopathy is a rare disease defined by glomerular microtubular immunoglobulin deposits. Since management and long-term outcomes remain poorly described, we retrospectively analyzed results of 27 adults from 21 departments of nephrology in France accrued over 19 years. Inclusion criteria were presence of glomerular Congo red-negative monotypic immunoglobulin deposits with ultrastructural microtubular organization, without evidence for cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis. Baseline manifestations of this cohort included: proteinuria (median 6.0 g/day), nephrotic syndrome (70%), microscopic hematuria (74%) and hypertension (56%) with a median serum creatinine of 1.5 mg/dL. Nineteen patients had detectable serum and/or urine monoclonal gammopathy. A bone marrow and/or peripheral blood clonal disorder was identified in 18 cases (16 lymphocytic and 2 plasmacytic disorders). Hematologic diagnosis was chronic/small lymphocytic lymphoma in 13, and monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance in 14 cases. Kidney biopsy showed atypical membranous in 16 or membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis in 11 cases, with microtubular monotypic IgG deposits (kappa in 17 of 27 cases), most commonly IgG1. Identical intracytoplasmic microtubules were observed in clonal lymphocytes from 5 of 10 tested patients. Among 21 patients who received alkylating agents, rituximab-based or bortezomib-based chemotherapy, 18 achieved a kidney response. After a median follow-up of 40 months, 16 patients had sustained kidney response, 7 had reached end-stage kidney disease, and 6 died. Chronic/small lymphocytic lymphoma appears as a common underlying condition in immunotactoid glomerulopathy, but clonal detection remains inconstant with routine techniques in patients with monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance. Thus, early diagnosis and hematological response after clone-targeted chemotherapy was associated with favorable outcomes. Hence, thorough pathologic and hematologic workup is key to the management of immunotactoid glomerulopathy.

Keywords: chronic lymphocytic leukemia; immunotactoid glomerulopathy; monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance; organized glomerular deposits; small lymphocytic lymphoma.