Goodpasture syndrome (GPS; also known as
Goodpasture’s disease,
antiglomerular basement antibody disease, or
anti-GBM disease) is a
rare autoimmune disease in which antibodies attack the
basement membrane in lungs and kidneys, leading to bleeding from the lungs and
kidney failure. It is thought to attack the alpha-3 subunit of
type IV collagen, which has therefore been referred to as Goodpasture's antigen. Goodpasture syndrome may quickly result in permanent lung and kidney damage, often leading to death. It is treated with immunosuppressant drugs such as
corticosteroids and
cyclophosphamide, and with
plasmapheresis, in which the antibodies are removed from the blood.