Rashid R, Shrestha RH, Elahi T, Shakeel S, Mubarak M. Immunofluorescence-based reclassification of idiopathic membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis: Insights from a single-center cohort. World J Nephrol 2026; 15(3): 121887 [DOI: 10.5527/wjn.121887]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Muhammed Mubarak, Department of Histopathology, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Chand Bibi Road, Karachi 74200, Sindh, Pakistan. drmubaraksiut@yahoo.com
Research Domain of This Article
Urology & Nephrology
Article-Type of This Article
research-article
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Nephrol. Sep 25, 2026; 15(3): 121887 Published online Sep 25, 2026. doi: 10.5527/wjn.121887
Immunofluorescence-based reclassification of idiopathic membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis: Insights from a single-center cohort
Rahma Rashid, Ranil H Shrestha, Tabassum Elahi, Shaheera Shakeel, Muhammed Mubarak
Rahma Rashid, Shaheera Shakeel, Muhammed Mubarak, Department of Histopathology, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Karachi 74200, Sindh, Pakistan
Ranil H Shrestha, Tabassum Elahi, Department of Nephrology, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Karachi 74200, Sindh, Pakistan
Author contributions: Rashid R wrote the manuscript with input from all authors; Rashid R and Shrestha RH performed the experiments and analyzed the data; Rashid R and Mubarak M designed the study; Shakeel S and Mubarak M contributed to the interpretation of the results; Elahi T and Mubarak M provided critical feedback and helped shape the research, analysis, and manuscript; Mubarak M supervised the project and critically revised and finalized the draft. All authors were involved in the conceptualization, development of the article and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: Grammarly (https://app.grammarly.com) was used to improve the grammar and clarity. No other AI tools were used. The authors take full responsibility and accountability for all content of this manuscript, including any portions for which AI tools were used as assistive technologies. All AI-assisted outputs were carefully reviewed, validated, and approved by the authors. AI tools were not used to generate original scientific data, perform independent scientific analyses, or draw scientific conclusions.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the Institutional Ethical Review Committee of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Karachi, Pakistan (Approval No. SIUT-ERC-2022/A-393).
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardians, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The dataset and related documents are available from the corresponding author.
Corresponding author: Muhammed Mubarak, Department of Histopathology, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Chand Bibi Road, Karachi 74200, Sindh, Pakistan. drmubaraksiut@yahoo.com
Received: April 3, 2026 Revised: June 5, 2026 Accepted: June 24, 2026 Published online: September 25, 2026 Processing time: 132 Days and 4.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Careful subclassification of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) using immunofluorescence is essential, as immune complex-mediated MPGN and complement-mediated MPGN (C-MPGN) types differ in underlying mechanisms and outcomes. Although clinical and histopathological features at presentation may appear similar, subtle distinctions, such as stronger C3 deposition and lower serum C3 in C-MPGN, may provide a clue for accurate diagnosis. Immune complex-mediated MPGN is more common and tends to achieve higher remission rates, while C-MPGN may carry a poorer prognosis despite comparable progression to end-stage kidney disease. Long-term follow-up and tailored immunosuppressive strategies are critical for both subtypes to optimize renal outcomes and better understand disease trajectories in diverse populations.
