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Updated: Aug 9, 2026
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Assessment of Kidney Function in Mouse Models of Glomerular Disease
Published on: June 30, 2018
Nephrotic tunnels in glomerular basement membrane as revealed by a new electron microscopic method
1Third Department of Internal Medicine, Okayama University Medical School, Japan.
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN
|June 1, 1994
Summary
The normal glomerular basement membrane has a unique meshwork structure. In nephrotic syndrome, defects like tunnels and cavities form, potentially causing protein leakage.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Cell Biology
- Pathology
Background:
- The glomerular basement membrane (GBM) is crucial for kidney filtration.
- Understanding its normal structure and disease-related changes is vital for diagnosing and treating kidney diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the in situ ultrastructure of the normal human GBM.
- To identify ultrastructural alterations in the GBM of patients with various nephrotic syndromes.
Main Methods:
- Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed.
- A novel "tissue negative staining method" was utilized for specimen examination.
Main Results:
- Normal GBM exhibits a 3D lattice of fibrils (1.9 +/- 0.4 nm) with uniform pores (2.5 +/- 0.4 nm short diameter).
- Nephrotic GBM shows defects including tunnels (15-50 nm diameter) and cavities (15-200 nm diameter), sometimes forming honeycomb structures.
- These defects are hypothesized as pathways for proteinuria.
Conclusions:
- The study reveals distinct ultrastructural defects in the GBM associated with nephrotic syndromes.
- These identified GBM alterations provide insights into the mechanism of protein leakage in kidney disease.
