Tubulointerstitial nephritis and primary biliary cirrhosis with a T cell-dominant profile of infiltrating cells and granulomas in both organs

Abstract

A 46-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for an evaluation of progressive renal insufficiency and elevated liver enzymes. A renal biopsy revealed chronic granulomatous interstitial nephritis. Her laboratory findings indicated primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), which was confirmed with a liver biopsy. CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells with granuloma formation were the predominant cells infiltrating into the interstitium of the kidneys and liver. The etiology of tubulointerstitial nephritis in the present patient was not clear; however, it might have shared the same pathogenesis as PBC due to the relatively close onset, the similar profiles of in-filtrating cells and the presence of granulomas. © 2013 The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine.