Studies of the capillary basal lamina. II. Preparation, chemical composition, andmetobolic properties.

Large amounts of basal laminae material can be extracted by sonic disruption from the capillary tissue of the rete mirabile of the eel swimbladder. The extracted basil laminae material has the same fibrillar pattern as that found in the intact tissue. Thechemical composition is similiar to that of other basil laminae isolated from tissues inmammals, with high content of glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, lysine, and hydroxylysine. The mono- and disaccharide units linked to the hydroxylysine are also present. Of all the pathways of glucose utilization, the 'C-glucose incorporation into the basallamina glycoproteins is the most sensitive to the medium glucose concentration. The glucosyltransferase activity seems stimulated to a plateau value of saturation when the medium glucose concentration is raised from 5 to 20 mm. The 'C-labeled amino acid incorporation into the basal laminae glycoproteins is not affected bythe medium glucose concentration. The results obtained in this study allow for a hypothesis which links the biochemical, morphologic, and functional properties of various typesof basal laminae in normal and hyperglycemic conditions.