An electron microscopic study of the fenestrated endothelial lining of rat liver sinusoids

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After perfusion fixation the sinusoidal lining of rat liver is composed mainly of endothelial cell processes bearing interextending sieve plates. The pore size of the fenestrations, was measured to be 0.1 μ; no larger openings occur in the lining. Rat liver sinusoids can therefore be regarded as fenestrated capillaries differing from other fenestrated capillaries by the absence of a diaphragm within the fenestrations and the absence of a basement membrane surrounding the capillary.

Concomitant experiments showed that the fenestrations could be demonstrated irrespective of the method used for preparation, i.e., chemical fixation or freeze etching. With chemical fixation the fenestrations could be made visible irrespective of the fixing compound (glutaraldehyde or osmium) or of the method of application of the fixative solution (perfusion or immersion). The failure to observe the fenestrations after immersion fixation of tissue blocks could not be explained by factors such as (postmortem) autolysis or mechanical deformation, and from this evidence it is concluded that the absence of fenestrations in routine immersion fixation is due to an unknown effect occurring during or caused by the penetration of the fixative into tissue blocks.

On the basis of morphological criteria a highly selective filtering effect can be expected in the lining in vivo, especially with regard to the passage of particulate material of varying size, for instance chylomicrons.

The connection of the fenestrated lining to a certain type of cell present in the sinusoidal lining can be used to identify this cell as an endothelial cell. This criterion is a new contribution to the morphological distinction between endothelial and Kupffer cells.

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