{
  "abstract": "Rituximab (RTX) is a first-line option for primary membranous nephropathy (pMN), but many patients fail to respond for reasons that conventional markers only partially explain. We assessed whether longitudinal peripheral immunophenotyping could identify cellular biomarkers of response. In a prospective single-center cohort of 35 patients with pMN treated with standard two-dose RTX, flow cytometry of B-cell, T-cell and monocyte compartments, the systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) and phospholipase A2 receptor antibody were assessed at baseline and months 3, 6 and 12. Within a mean of 7.48 ± 2.4 months, 23 patients (65.7%) achieved either partial or complete remission. By month three, responders showed deeper B-cell depletion, higher CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ T cells, fewer intermediate monocytes and a lower SIRI. On multivariate analysis, month-3 depletion of total CD3−CD19+ B cells below 0.5% (odds ratio 5.8, 95% confidence interval 1.1–31.1) was associated with remission, and each 0.1-unit increase in month-3 SIRI (odds ratio 0.44, 95% confidence interval 0.22–0.91) with lower odds of remission. In a hypothesis-generating analysis, a model combining both had an apparent area under the curve of 0.87. Longitudinal immunophenotyping identifies candidate biomarkers of RTX response in pMN that require multicenter validation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Nephrology, University of Ioannina and University Hospital of Ioannina, Stavrou Niarchou Avenue, 45500 Ioannina, Greece",
    "Laboratory of Hematology—Unit of Molecular Biology, University Hospital of Ioannina, 45500 Ioannina, Greece",
    "First Pathology Laboratory, General Hospital of Athens “Laiko″, 11527 Athens, Greece",
    "Department of Radiology, University Hospital of Ioannina, 45500 Ioannina, Greece",
    "Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital of Ioannina, 45500 Ioannina, Greece",
    "First Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Ioannina, 45500 Ioannina, Greece"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Christos Georgopoulos",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-8037-1956"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lefkothea Dova"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Eleni Stamellou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Anila Duni"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Georgios Vartholomatos",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3884-4965"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "George Liapis"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Vasileios Patsiogiannis"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Ekaterini Siomou",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0032-9047"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Haralampos Milionis",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3958-2266"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Evangelia Dounousi",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1172-1829"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/25ftmtkhpjq2k.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/ijms27219956",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "25ftmtkhpjq2k",
  "issns": [
    "1422-0067"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9956",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-06",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/25ftmtkhpjq2k.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T00:21:12Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/ijms27219956",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9956"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "issn:1422-0067",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Longitudinal Peripheral Immunophenotyping and Rituximab Response in Primary Membranous Nephropathy: A Prospective Cohort Study",
  "title_text": "Longitudinal Peripheral Immunophenotyping and Rituximab Response in Primary Membranous Nephropathy: A Prospective Cohort Study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-07T00:21:12Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/25ftmtkhpjq2k",
  "venue": "International Journal of Molecular Sciences",
  "versions": []
}