RESEARCH ARTICLE
Antiphospholipid Antibodies and APS Nephropathy
Rohan Willis*, Emilio B Gonzalez
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2015Volume: 8
Issue: 10
First Page: 10
Last Page: 17
Publisher ID: TOUNJ-8-10
DOI: 10.2174/1874303X01508020010
Article History:
Received Date: 1/8/2014Revision Received Date: 15/9/2014
Acceptance Date: 17/9/2014
Electronic publication date: 20/2/2015
Collection year: 2015

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
The presence of pathogenic antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) is the characterizing feature of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), mediating the recurrent pregnancy loss and thrombosis typical of the disease through its action on various antigenic targets. APS nephropathy is the characteristic clinico-athological manifestation of renal involvement in APS and occurs as a result of vaso-occlusive disease in the intrarenal vasculature. The typical clinical features and morphological lesions of APS nephropathy have been well characterized and several studies have established a link between these features and the presence of various aPL. In this review, we outline the proposed pathophysiological mechanisms of aPL-mediated thrombosis, the characteristic clinical and morphological features of APS nephropathy and the evidence linking aPL action to the occurrence of APS nephropathy.