Granulated peripolar epithelial cells in the renal corpuscle of marine elasmobranch fish

Granulated epithelial cells at the vascular pole of the renal corpuscle, peripolar cells, have been found in the kidneys of five species of elasmobranchs, the little skate (Raja erinacea), the smooth dogfish shark (Mustelus canis), the Atlantic sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae), the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini), and the cow-nosed ray (Rhinoptera bonasus). In a sixth elasmobranch, the spiny dogfish shark (Squalus acanthias), the peripolar cells could not be identified among numerous other granulated epithelial cells. The peripolar cells are located at the transition between the parietal epithelium of Bowman's capsule and the visceral epithelium (podocytes) of the glomerulus, thus forming a cuff-like arrangement surrounding the hilar vessels of the renal corpuscle. These cells may have granules and/or vacuoles. Electron microscopy shows that the granules are membrane-bounded, and contain either a homogeneous material or a paracrystalline structure with a repeating period of about 18 nm. The vacuoles are electron lucent or may contain remnants of a granule. These epithelial cells lie close to the granulated cells of the glomerular afferent arteriole. They correspond to the granular peripolar cells of the mammalian, avian and amphibian kidney. The present study is the first reported occurrence of peripolar cells in a marine organism or in either bony or cartilagenous fish.