Structural basis for some permeability properties of the air--blood barrier

The structural basis for the permeability of the alveolar-capillary membrane to water-soluble solutes rests in part on the structure and function of its intercellular junctions and the pinocytotic vesicles within its cells. Intercellular junctions between endothelial cells of the pulmonary capillary bed differ both in permeability to enzyme tracers and in their structure. As determined by freeze fracture, the junctions in the arteriolar, capillary, and venular portion of the capillary network vary in complexity, and in the number of rows of particles constituting the junction. Because there are few particles associated with the junctions in the venular end of the capillary bed, these are considered to be the most permeable of the three types of vascular junctions. Epithelial junctions, in contrast, are impermeable to all enzyme tracers studied, and they are composed of a continuous, complex network of junctional fibrils. While intercellular junctions form seals of varying 'tightness,' pinocytotic vesicles provide a means for the transport of water-soluble macromolecules across the alveolar-capillary membrane.