Li YQ, et al. - Researchers examined patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) for the correlation between serum levels of phospholipase A2 receptor antibody (SAb) and glomerular deposits of phospholipase A2 receptor antigen (GAg). In addition, they examined how these immunologic factors are correlated with the status and prognosis of IMN. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunofluorescence, SAb and GAg were measured, respectively, in 51 patients with biopsy-proven IMN diagnosed. Patients with IMN displayed significantly higher positive rate of GAg vs SAb (88.24% vs 66.77%). SAb+ patients vs SAb- patients displayed a higher baseline proteinuria (6.21 vs 3.40g/24h), lower serum albumin (22.49±6.59 vs 29.09±7.40g/L) and poorer renal function (88.96±21.17 vs 107.25±20.04 ml/min/1.73 m²), as well as a higher renal IgG4 level. In this cohort of patients with IMN, the SAb vs the GAg had a more close correlation to the disease status and prognosis.