HEV ORF2 protein-antibody complex deposits are associated with glomerulonephritis in hepatitis E with reduced immune status
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection, one of the most common forms of hepatitis worldwide, is often associated with extrahepatic, particularly renal, manifestations. However, the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here, we report the development of a de novo immune complex-mediated glomerulonephritis (GN) in a kidney transplant recipient with chronic hepatitis E. Applying immunostaining, electron microscopy, and mass spectrometry after laser-capture microdissection, we show that GN develops in parallel with increasing glomerular deposition of a non-infectious, genome-free and non-glycosylated HEV open reading frame 2 (ORF2) capsid protein. No productive HEV infection of kidney cells is detected. Patients with acute hepatitis E display similar but less pronounced deposits. Our results establish a link between the production of HEV ORF2 protein and the development of hepatitis E-associated GN in the immunocompromised state. The formation of glomerular IgG-HEV ORF2 immune complexes discovered here provides a potential mechanistic explanation of how the hepatotropic HEV can cause variable renal manifestations. These findings directly provide a tool for etiology-based diagnosis of hepatitis E-associated GN as a distinct entity and suggest therapeutic implications.
Authors
- Jérôme Gouttenoire (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7715-1494)
- Rossella Parrotta
- Martin Ferrié (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1300-5543)
- Enni Markkanen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7780-8233)
- Maliki Ankavay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7400-3779)
- Anne‐Laure Leblond (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4080-3126)
- Marc E. Healy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9441-1166)
- Fritjof Helmchen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8867-9569)
- Harald Seeger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1552-7983)
- Beat Müllhaupt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9020-8192)
- Laurence Cocquerel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2136-5178)
- Nasser Semmo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2707-765X)
- Achim Weber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0073-3637)
- Ariana Gaspert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5412-7814)
- Darius Moradpour (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1977-6792)
- Helmut Hopfer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1755-2170)
- Jasna Jetzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3105-1054)
- Birgit Helmchen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5632-8167)
- Amiskwia Pöschel
- Daniela Lenggenhager (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5382-9854)
- Hueseyin Yurtsever
Institutions
- University of Bern (CH)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Inserm (FR)
- University of Basel (CH)
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Université de Lille (FR)
- Institut Pasteur de Lille (FR)
- University Hospital of Bern (CH)
- University Hospital of Basel (CH)
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille (FR)
- Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille (FR)
- University Hospital of Zurich (CH)
- Kantonsspital Aarau (CH)
- University of Lausanne (CH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-10-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53072-0
- Citations
- 13
- Primary Topic
- Hepatitis Viruses Studies and Epidemiology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.80
Funders
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Uniscientia Stiftung
- Universitätsspital Zürich