What Is C3G?
Complement 3 glomerulopathy (C3G) is a rare, autoimmune kidney disease.
What Causes C3G?
The complement system
The complement system is part of your immune system
It is made up of proteins that work together to identify and remove things that can cause infection
One of these proteins is C3
How Can It Damage Your Kidneys?
When you have healthy kidneys
The kidney is a vital organ. It works to maintain the health of the bloodstream by filtering out waste and removing it as urine. The kidney then sends clean red blood cells and many important proteins, like those involved in the immune system, back into circulation.
When You Have C3G
Complement 3 glomerulopathy (C3G): a rare, autoimmune kidney disease
Did you know? One important part of the immune system is called the complement system, which specializes in destroying viruses and bacteria. The complement system includes many proteins, one of which is complement 3 (C3).
Complement overactivity
In C3G, there are factors that cause part of the complement system to become overactive. An overactive complement system results in C3 proteins being broken down into smaller fragments.
Kidney buildup
Blood filters through the kidney. When this happens C3 fragments can become deposited in the kidney’s filters.
Kidney inflammation
The accumulation of C3G fragments can lead to the overactivation of the complement system, which causes inflammation in the kidney.
Disease progression
Although the progression of C3G varies, continued inflammation due to an overactive complement system can cause the kidneys to fail. Dialysis or a kidney transplant may be needed.
Do you have trouble describing what C3G is? Use the section above to explain your C3G diagnosis to family and friends.
The complement system plays a key role throughout C3G disease progression
Doctor portrayal.
How Rare Is C3G?
C3G is ultra rare
C3G has an estimated worldwide annual prevalence of 1 to 2 cases per million people
With such an ultra-rare disease, statistics and lab work may not tell your whole story
Few people may actually understand everything you go through on a daily basis