Complement-Mediated Glomerular Diseases: A Tale of 3 Pathways.

A renewed interest in the role of complement in the pathogenesis of glomerular diseases has improved our understanding of their basic, underlying physiology. All 3 complement pathways-classical, lectin, and alternative-have been implicated in glomerular lesions both rare (e.g., dense deposit disease) and common (e.g., IgA nephropathy). Here we review the basic function of these pathways and highlight, with a disease-specific focus, how activation can lead to glomerular injury. We end by exploring the promise of complement-targeted therapies as disease-specific interventions for glomerular diseases.