19
Views
56
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Article

Intertubular Capillary Changes in Kidney Allografts: An Ultrastructural Study in Patients with Transplant Glomerulopathy

, , &
Pages 201-209 | Accepted 02 Aug 1989, Published online: 10 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

Fifteen kidney allograft specimens from 14 patients with transplant glomerulopathy were investigated by electron microscopy. Intertubular capillaries of all patients showed splitting and multilayering of the basement membranes, a change recalling that observed in the glomerular basement membranes in transplant glomerulopathy. Although the severity of the lesions varied from case to case, it was, to a certain extent, constant in each specimen and correlated well with the severity of the glomerular basement membrane changes in the same patient. The similarity of the two lesions suggests a possible common pathogenetic mechanism. The constant finding of intertubular capillary splitting and multilayering in patients with transplant glomerulopathy leads to the suspicion of this condition when such changes are found in kidney samples in which glomeruli are lacking. Therefore electron microscopy could achieve a specific diagnostic relevance in this field of nephropathology.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.