Myeloid cells bear Fc receptors (FcR) that mediate inflammatory signaling through the ITAM-containing FcRc adaptor. They express FcRc-associated FcaRI, which modulate either activating or inhibitory signaling depending on the type of ligand interaction. The role of FcaRIc in disease progression remains unknown, notably in IgA nephropathy (IgAN), one of major causes of end-stage renal disease, in which large amounts of circulating IgA-immune complexes (IC) may mediate receptor activation. To analyze the involvement of FcaRI activation in glomerulonephritis (GN), we generated Tg mice expressing a mutated, signaling-incompetent, human FcaRI R209L that cannot associate with FcRc. Like FcaRI wt -Tg mice, they developed mesangial IgA deposits but not macrophage infiltration. FcaRI activation in FcaRI wt , but not in FcaRI R209L , Tg mice resulted in marked inflammation with severe proteinuria and leukocyte infiltration in spontaneous IgAN or anti-glomerular basement membrane Ab-induced GN models. Receptor triggering of syngenically transferred FcaRI wt Tg macrophages into non-Tg animals induced their recruitment into injured kidneys during GN development. FcaRI wt cross-linking on macrophages activated MAP kinases and production of TNF-a and MCP-1. Moreover, IgA-IC from IgAN patients activated FcaRI and induced TNF-a production. Thus, FcaRI activation mediates GN progression by initiating a cytokine/ chemokine cascade that promotes leukocyte recruitment and kidney damage.