The fine structure of the bovine Descemet's membrane with special reference to biochemical nature.

A freeze-etch replica method combined with biochemical analyses was used to investigate the ultrastructural organization of the bovine Descemet's membrane. The freeze-etch replica observations revealed that the intact Descemet's membranes were composed of stacks of two-dimensionally arranged hexagonal lattices, in which four components were resolved; (1) round densities as nodes, (2) rod-like structures connecting the densities, (3) randomly oriented fine filaments within the lattices, and (4) amorphous materials covering the lattices. When the membranes were treated with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and mercaptoethanol, only the amorphous materials were solubilized. However, both the amorphous materials and rod-like structures disappeared in SDS-mercaptoethanol-urea-treated membranes. When the membranes were treated with a very low concentration (0.0005%) of collagenase, rod-like structures and round densities remained insoluble. If the concentration was raised to 0.01%, only the round densities persisted. Comparing these data with the amino acid analysis of each fraction, the following conclusions may be drawn: rod-like structures and fine filaments contain collagenous proteins of different solubility, while round densities and amorphous materials are non-collagenous in nature.