%0 Journal Article
%T IgA1 Glycosylation Is Heritable in Healthy Twins.
%A Lomax-Browne HJ
%A Visconti A
%A Pusey CD
%A Cook HT
%A Spector TD
%A Pickering MC
%A Falchi M
%J J Am Soc Nephrol
%V 28
%N 1
%D Jan 2017
%M 27313232
%F 14.978
%R 10.1681/ASN.2016020184
%X IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common form of primary GN and an important cause of kidney failure. Characteristically, patients with IgAN have increased serum levels of undergalactosylated IgA1 (gd-IgA1). To assess the degree to which serum gd-IgA1 levels are genetically determined in healthy individuals, we determined serum IgA and gd-IgA1 levels by ELISA in a sample of 148 healthy female twins, including 27 monozygotic and 47 dizygotic pairs. Using the classic twin model, we found the heritability of serum gd-IgA1 and IgA levels to be 80% (95% confidence interval, 66% to 89%) and 46% (95% confidence interval, 15% to 69%), respectively. These data indicate that serum gd-IgA1 levels are highly heritable. Elucidating the genetic basis of this heritability will be important in understanding the pathogenesis of IgAN.