Assessment of the Banff Working Group classification of definitive BK polyomavirus nephropathy.

Polyomavirus associated nephropathy (PyVAN) continues to be a burden in renal transplantation leading to allograft insufficiency or graft failure. A presumptive diagnosis of PyVAN is made based on the presence of BK polyomavirus in patients' plasma; however, kidney biopsy remains the gold standard to establish a definitive diagnosis. The Banff Working Group on PyVAN proposed a novel classification of definitive PyVAN based on polyomavirus replication/load level and the extent of interstitial fibrosis. The aim of our study was to test the newly defined classes of PyVAN using independent cohorts of 124 kidney transplant patients with PyVAN with respect to the initial presentation and outcome, and to compare our analysis to that previously reported. Detailed analysis of our cohort revealed that the proposed classification of PyVAN did not stratify or identify patients at increased risk of allograft failure. Specifically, while class 3 was associated with the worst prognosis, there was no significant difference between the outcomes in classes 1 and 2. We also found that the timing post-transplantation and inflammation in areas of interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy might be additional factors contributing to an unfavorable allograft outcome in patients with PyVAN.

The Continuing Need for Electron Microscopy in Examination of Medical Renal Biopsies: Examples in Practice.

Background: For the better part of the past 6 decades, transmission electron microscopy (EM), together with routine light microscopy and immunofluorescence and/or immunohistochemistry (IHC), has been an essential component of the diagnostic workup of medical renal biopsies, particularly native renal biopsies, with increasing frequency in renal allograft biopsies as well. Studies performed prior to the year 2000 have indeed shown that a substantial fraction of renal biopsies cannot be accurately diagnosed without EM. Still, EM remains costly and labor-intensive, and with increasing pressure to reduce healthcare costs, some centers are de-emphasizing diagnostic EM. This trend has been coupled with advances in IHC and other methods in renal biopsy diagnosis over the past 2-3 decades. Summary: Nonetheless, it has been our experience that the diagnostic value of EM in the comprehensive evaluation of renal biopsies remains similar to what it was 20-30 years ago. In this review, we provide several key examples from our practice where EM was essential in making the correct renal biopsy diagnosis, ranging from relatively common glomerular lesions to rare diseases. Key Messages: EM remains an important component of the diagnostic evaluation of medical renal biopsies. Failure to perform EM in certain cases will result in an incorrect diagnosis, with possible clinical consequences. We strongly recommend that tissue for EM be taken and stored in an appropriate fixative and ultrastructural studies be performed for all native renal biopsies, as well as appropriate renal allograft biopsies as recommended by the Banff consortium.

The histopathological spectrum of kidney biopsies in patients with thymoma and myasthenia gravis: a report of 24 biopsies from a single institution.

Background: Nephropathy in patients with thymic diseases such as thymoma and myasthenia gravis (MG) is rare and has been described mostly as isolated case reports. Here we evaluate a series of kidney biopsies from patients with thymoma and/or MG from a single institution in order to better define the spectrum and relative frequencies of thymic disease-associated nephropathies. Methods: We conducted a retrospective case series study of 32 462 native kidney biopsies from January 2005 through December 2019 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Results: Twenty-four biopsy specimens (0.07%) from patients with a history of thymoma and/or MG were identified. Two patients had repeat biopsies. The most common pathologic diagnosis that could be immunologically attributed to thymic disease was minimal change disease (MCD; 45%), followed by tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN; 14%), immune complex (IC)-mediated glomerulonephritis (9%), membranous nephropathy (5%) and immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy (5%). Interestingly, 50% of the MCD and 67% of TIN cases concomitantly showed mild IgG-dominant IC deposition in mesangial areas and/or in tubular basement membranes. In the two patients with repeat biopsies, mild mesangial IC deposition developed in the MCD patient but disappeared in the TIN patient with the second biopsy. Pathologic diagnoses unlikely related to the underlying thymic disease were diabetic glomerulosclerosis (9%), acute tubular necrosis (9%) and monoclonal Ig deposition disease (5%). Conclusions: Thymic disease is associated with a wide spectrum of kidney diseases affecting the glomerular and tubulointerstitial compartments, often with low-grade IC deposition. These findings suggest a role of immunologic dysregulation in the pathogenesis of thymic disease-associated nephropathy.

Interstitial eosinophilic aggregates in diabetic nephropathy: allergy or not?

BACKGROUND: Interstitial eosinophilic aggregates (IEA) in renal biopsies often suggest allergic tubulointerstitial nephritis, yet clear associations with drug reactions are often difficult to establish. IEA are also encountered in diabetic nephropathy (DN) and thought to be attributed to medication exposure. METHODS: Native medical kidney biopsies performed at the University of Washington Medical Center were reviewed, including DN (n = 64), IgA nephropathy (IgAN, n = 28), membranous nephropathy (MN, n = 14), focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS, n = 27) and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN, n = 28). IEA were defined as ≥5 eosinophils per high power field. The severity of interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) was scored semi-quantitatively as minimal, mild, moderate or severe. RESULTS: IEA were remarkably more prevalent in DN (41%), when compared with IgAN (7%, P = 0.001), MN (8%, P = 0.017) or MPGN (14%, P = 0.013), but not FSGS (26%, P = 0.18). In DN cases, univariate analysis revealed that IEA were associated with greater IFTA severity, but not with the percentage of glomerulosclerosis, mesangial expansion, history of drug allergy, number of prescribed medications or particular class of medications (antibiotics, NSAIDs, aspirin, thiazide, loop diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, beta blockers, insulin, sulfonylurea, metformin or allopurinol). Multivariate analysis showed that the severity of IFTA was the only significant predictor for IEA (P < 0.01) after stepwise adjustment for age, number of medications, drug allergy, diabetes type, % global glomerulosclerosis and mesangial expansion. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that IEA are more common in DN, when compared with other types of glomerulopathy. In DN, IEA are associated with the severity of IFTA but not with prescribed medications or clinical history of allergy. This suggests that in DN IEA are often associated with chronic tubulointerstitial injury and are not diagnostic of an allergic interstitial nephritis.

Predominant cartilaginous hamartoma: an unusual variant of chondromatous hamartoma.

Chondromatous hamartomas are the most common benign lung tumors and the third most common pulmonary nodule. Histologically, they are characteristically composed of hyaline cartilage mixed with fibromyxoid stroma and adipose tissue surrounded by epithelial cells. We report the case of a healthy, 60-year-old woman with an incidentally discovered chondromatous hamartoma that was thorascopically excised. Her pulmonary hamartoma was predominantly cartilaginous, which only occurs in 1% of hamartomas.