Fig. 3

Transmission electron microscopy showing glycocalyx in glomerular fenestrated capillaries and hepatic sinusoids under normal conditions. a Ultrastructure of glomerular capillaries under normal conditions. a1 Glomerular capillary without lanthanum nitrate staining. The healthy glomerular endothelium is composed of three layers, including endothelial cells (black arrow), as well as basement membrane and podocytes (red arrow), which are bound with each other. a2, a3 Lanthanum nitrate staining to visualize glycocalyx. a3 Expanded view of the area within the red rectangle in (a2). Glycocalyx is present on the surface of glomerular capillaries and podocytes. b Ultrastructure of hepatic sinusoids under normal conditions. b1 Sinusoid without lanthanum nitrate staining. The sinusoid is composed of discontinuous flat endothelial cells (black arrow) and has large pores. The space of Disse is situated under the endothelium (red arrow). b2, b3 Visualized glycocalyx in sinusoids. b3 Expanded view of the area within the red rectangle in (b2). The endothelial glycocalyx layer of sinusoids is thin (black arrow) and is also present in the space of Disse (red arrow)