Changes in the molecular sieve of glomerular basement membrane in rats with aminonucleoside nephrosis.

Isolated and purified glomerular basement membranes (GBM) of normal and aminonucleoside (PAN) nephrosis rats were observed by electron microscopy after negative staining. Although GBM of normal rats appeared as a molecular sieve with uniform pores, GBM of nephrotic rats showed enlargement and elongation of the pores. For an average of fifty pores, the long dimension was 40.4+/-10.7 A and the short dimension 13.8+/-3.6 A in nephrosis whereas the long dimension was 12.3+/-2.5 A and the short dimension 8.4+/-1.0 A in normal rats. Changes in the pores in GBM were thought to result in increased permeability of serum protein and hence proteinuria.