Search

The ultrastructure of renal tubule cells was studied in the European lesser spotted dogfish by the evaluation of thin sections and freeze fracture replicas. Computer-assisted three-dimensional reconstruction of entire nephrons was performed. The distinction of nephron segments and collecting tubule was made using results of previous histological work. The first proximal tubule segment (PI) consists of two subsequent portions, PIa and PIb. PIa is a component of the lateral countercurrent bundle, and PIb, which displays an apical tubulovesicular apparatus and an extended lysosomal compartment, is located in the vicinity of the glomeruli. Rod-shaped intramembrane particles were detected in PIa. The second proximal tubule segment (PII) is a special segment in elasmobranch and teleost fish. PII differs largely from PI in cell morphology and function. The apical cytoplasm was filled with small clear vesicles, and an apical endocytic apparatus was lacking. In the apical cell membrane, rod-shaped particles were revealed by freeze fracture. The apical tight junctions of PI and PII consisted of seven to ten meandering strands. The distal nephron was subdivided into two major segments: early distal tubule (EDT) in the lateral countercurrent bundles and late distal tubule (LDT) in the mesial tissue. The EDT showed marked amplification of basolateral cell membranes. The tight junctions displayed a low number of continuous parallel strands, which is also characteristically found in the diluting segments of other vertebrates. LDT cells showed cytoplasmic studs and rod-shaped intramembraneous particles at the apical cell membrane, thereby resembling type A intercalated cells of collecting duct. The collecting tubule (CT) emerged from the LDT and was part of the countercurrent arrangement inside the lateral bundles. Tight junctions of LDT and CT consisted of many meandering strands in a honeycomb pattern. With immunohistochemistry, binding sites of a polyclonal antibody against an extraplasmic portion of rat gastric H(+)-K(+)-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) were observed at the apical cell membrane of PIa, PII, and LDT. From the colocalization of binding sites for the antibody against the transport enzyme with rod-shaped intramembrane particles, we assume that these might be the morphological correlate of gastric H(+)-K(+)-ATPase-like enzyme in the renal tubule.

The platypus kidney shows morphological similarities to those of other mammals. Macroscopically, the cortex is easily distinguishable from the fairly wide medulla. Within the medulla, no clear border is observed between the inner and outer zones. Light and transmission electron microscopically, the glomeruli show quite similar architecture to those of other mammals; however, the glomerular lobulation is very clear. The glomerular tufts are rather simple, but capillary lumen varies widely in size, which is one of the unique features of the platypus kidney. The urinary tubule is generally similar to that of human and other mammals in shape and segmentation; however, the staining specificities of histochemical reactions and the shape of epithelial cells of the Henle's loop differ from those of other mammals. The most conspicuous features are: 1) although no protein casts are found in the tubular lumina, epithelial cells of the proximal convoluted tubule (PCT) have numerous electron-dense vesicles as in human nephrotic kidneys; and 2) the platypus Henle's loop consists of the thick epithelial cells similar to the mammalian type nephron of birds. As compared to those of other mammals such as humans and rats, our observations suggest that the platypus kidney is less developed, in terms of evolution.

The kidneys from 6 domestic fowl were fixed in situ by perfusion from the left ventricle. In the bird there are two types of nephrons. One reptilian-type without Henle's loop and medullary tissue, and one mammalian-type with Henle's loop lying in medullary tissue. Serial sections from kidney tissue embedded in plexiglass or in paraffin were used to study the architecture of eight reconstructed reptilian-type nephrons from different cortical levels. All reconstructed nephrons had four major bends, but particularly in the subcapsular nephrons additional bends parallel to the kidney surface were found. There was no loop of Henle, but before entering the collecting duct the distal tubule usually had a very thin-walled segment. No proximal convoluted part was found in the reptilian-type nephrons. The length of the tubules varied between 3,000 microns and 6,000 microns. In the distal tubule a macula densa segment was found in all nephrons of the reptilian and mammalian type. The capillary network between the inter- and intralobular veins was composed of increasingly larger capillaries towards the intralobular vein. Segments of the distal tubule were indented into these capillaries and completely surrounded by them. In the nephrons of the mammalian type the proximal tubule was found to be convoluted as is usual for mammalian species.