Figure 2.

Analysis of glomerular immune complexes and complement deposition in D1 and D2 mice immunized with α3NC1. Kidneys were collected at week 8 post-immunization from adjuvant immunized D2 mice (left), α3NC1-immunized D2 mice (middle), and α3NC1-immunized D1 mice (right). (A) Direct immunofluorescence staining shows mouse IgG binding along the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) in α3NC1-immunized D1 and D2 mice. Control mice show non-specific mesangial deposition of mouse IgG. (B) Mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of IgG staining, expressed in arbitrary units (AU), was compared in α3NC1-immunized D2 and D1 mice. The difference was not significant (n.s.) by t test. (C) Indirect immunofluorescence staining with mAb RH34 shows GBM deposition of exogenous antigen in all α3NC1-immunized mice, which is absent in adjuvant-immunized mice. (D) Direct immunofluorescence staining reveals C3c deposition along the capillary loops in α3NC1-immunized D1 and D2 mice. In control mice, C3c staining is positive in the Bowman’s capsule and kidney tubules. (E) Indirect immunofluorescence shows capillary loop staining for C5b-9 in α3NC1-immunized D1 mice. A weak background of non-specific immunofluorescence is observed in adjuvant-immunized and α3NC1-immunized D2 mice. Original magnification 400×.