title: Ultrastructure of the basement membrane and its precursor in developing rat submandibular gland as shown by alcian blue staining.
abstract: The ultrastructure of the epithelial basement membrane and membrane precursor was studied in rat submandibular rudiment and a model system of the reconstructed basement membrane, by transmission electron microscopy following alcian blue staining. Directly beneath the epithelial plasma membrane, a meshwork layer was found to consist of anastomosing thin fibers arranged as a three-dimensional meshwork (100-400 nm in thickness). Straight strands (5-10 nm in diameter) could sometimes be seen to pass through the meshwork. Adjacent to this layer, a coarse network composed of threads (20-40 nm in diameter) connected the meshwork layer with collagen fibers of the underlying connective tissue. The earliest precursors recognized in the reconstruction-model system were part of the fine-meshwork structure, and showed this structure to be a fundamental component of the basement membrane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kadoya
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamashina
mesh_terms: D000423:Alcian Blue; D000818:Animals; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000196:embryology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005865:Gestational Age; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains / Q000196:embryology; D013363:Submandibular Gland / Q000196:embryology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D000423:Alcian Blue