Nephrotic syndrome with crescent formation and massive IgA deposition following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for natural killer cell leukemia/lymphoma

We describe herein a case of nephrotic syndrome (NS) following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT) for natural killer cell leukemia/lymphoma. Histologic studies defined the diagnosis as crescentic glomerulonephritis with massive immunoglobulin A (IgA) deposition, which has never been reported in NS cases following allo-BMT. Most of the massive infiltrated cells in the interstice were CD3(+)CD4(-)CD8(+) T cells derived from the donor. We observed mesangial deposition of Haemophilus parainfluenza outer membrane (OMHP) antigen and decreased glycosylation of the IgA1 hinge in the recipient's samples is consistent with the recently reported pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy. Further, the titer of IgA antibody against the donor serum was as high as other IgA nephropathy cases. These findings suggest that NS and crescentic glomerulonephritis in this case occurred as one of the forms of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and that IgA deposition was associated with H parainfluenza and decreased glycosylation of the IgA1 hinge.