Impaired immune regulation along the mucosa–bone marrow axis has been postulated to
play an important role in the pathogenesis of immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy. Animal
models have allowed us to study such changes in detail. Accumulating evidence from a
number of animal models suggest that there is dysregulation of innate and cellular immunity
in IgA nephropathy, resulting in changes to the mucosal immune system. These changes
appear to be linked closely to a disruption of mucosal tolerance, resulting in the abnormal …