Ultrastructural changes of the rat renal glomeruli in the early phase of renovascular hypertension.

Electron microscopic studies were carried out on rat kidneys during the early phase of "two-kidney" Goldblatt hypertension. Pathologic ultrastructural changes (confluence of foot processes of the podocytes, formation of intercellular juctions between them, etc.) and an enhanced permeability to ferritin were found in the glomeruli of both the ischaemic and the contralateral kidneys. Signs of activation and exhaustion of the lysosomal system appeared in the glomerular epithelial cells of the untouched kidneys. These signs were absent in the kidneys with constricted arteries. The possible significance and pathogenesis of the alteration are discussed in comparison with other pathological conditions showing a similar ultrastructural picture.