Infection with hepatitis C virus has been associated with a number of extrahepatic manifestations, including kidney disease. Of the glomerular pathologic states described with hepatitis C virus infection, cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis is the most prevalent. On kidney biopsy, cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis has a variable appearance, with a membranoproliferative pattern of injury as the most common light microscopic finding. Ultrastructurally, curved and paired microtubules are the most characteristic finding, but these also can be variable. We present a case of cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis with distinct and highly unusual ultrastructural findings.
Keywords: Cryoglobulinemia; cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis; crystalline deposits; hepatitis C; membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis; organized deposits.
Copyright © 2013 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.