An ultrastructural analysis of isolated basement membranes in the acellular renal cortex: A comparative study of human and laboratory animals

Abstract

Freshly harvested kidneys from New Zealand white rabbits, Sprague‐Dawley white rats, rhesus monkeys, and transplant‐quality human kidneys were used in this study. Minced renal cortical tissue blocks ( TBM > GGBM > PTCBM. The striking morphologic heterogeneity of major BM types demonstrated in the acellular renal cortex is not surprising in view of recent biochemical analyses that show that BMs derived from different sources are compositionally disparate. We conclude that BMs should be evaluated and characterized individually and that morphologic definition of isolated BMs is necessary prior to further analysis.