Imaging Mass Cytometry was used at single-cell resolution on kidney biopsies from 15 patients (5 AAV, 5 class III/IV lupus nephritis, 5 reference) to map immune cell spatial relationships with tubulointerstitial injury markers pRIPK3 and FACL4.
Across 106,455 cells, pRIPK3 and FACL4 were upregulated in tubule segments and endothelial cells in both AAV and LN vs. reference; this upregulation was most pronounced in resident cells immediately adjacent to interstitial immune cells, especially T cells.
Very small sample size (n=15, 5 per group) limits generalizability; reference tissue from non-tumor nephrectomy regions may not represent healthy kidney; study is explicitly hypothesis-generating with no causal or interventional data.
No immediate practice change is warranted, but pRIPK3 and FACL4 may be worth tracking as emerging biomarkers or targets for tubulointerstitial injury in AAV and lupus nephritis research.
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