Increased number and activation of peripheral basophils in adult-onset minimal change disease

Abstract

Nowadays, the pathogenesis of minimal change disease (MCD) is still not well-known, and the current understanding on MCD is mainly based on data derived from children, and very few adults. Here, we comprehensively analysed the correlation between the changes of peripheral basophils and the incidence rate and relapse of adult-onset MCD. The results showed that in patients at the onset of MCD, the ratio and activation of basophils were all higher than those of healthy controls (all P < .05). In vitro test results showed that basophils from healthy controls can be activated by the serum taken from patients with MCD. Among 62 patients at the onset of MCD, with complete remission after treatment and 1 year of follow-up, the relative and absolute basophil counts before treatment were higher in the long-term remission group (n = 33) than that of the relapse group (n = 29). The basophil counts were significantly higher in the infrequent relapse group (n = 13) than that of the frequent relapse group (n = 16; P < .05). These findings suggested that basophil may play a pathogenic role in adult-onset MCD, and the increased number and activation of peripheral basophils could predict recurrence in adult MCD.

Keywords: activation; adult; basophil; minimal change disease; recurrence.