Structure-function studies of blood and air capillaries in chicken lung using 3D electron microscopy

Avian pulmonary capillaries differ from those of mammals in three important ways. The blood-gas barrier is much thinner, it is more uniform in thickness, and the capillaries are far more rigid when their transmural pressure is altered. The thinness of the barrier is surprising because it predisposes the capillaries to stress failure. A possible mechanism for these differences is that avian pulmonary capillaries, unlike mammalian, are supported from the outside by air capillaries, but the details of the support are poorly understood. To clarify this we studied the blood and air capillaries in chicken lung using transmission electron microscopy (EM) and two relatively new techniques that allow 3D visualization: electron tomography and serial block-face scanning EM. These studies show that the pulmonary capillaries are flanked by epithelial bridges composed of two extremely thin epithelial cells with large surface areas. The junctions of the bridges with the capillary walls show thickening of the epithelial cells and an accumulation of extracellular matrix. Collapse of the pulmonary capillaries when the pressure outside them is increased is apparently prevented by the guy wire-like action of the epithelial bridges. The enlarged junctions between the bridges and the walls could provide a mechanism that limits the hoop stress in the capillary walls when the pressure inside them is increased. The support of the pulmonary capillaries may also be explained by an interdependence mechanism whereby the capillaries are linked to a rigid assemblage of air capillaries. These EM studies show the supporting structures in greater detail than has previously been possible, particularly in 3D, and they allow a more complete analysis of the mechanical forces affecting avian pulmonary capillaries.