Myelin-like structures seen intracellularly in renal tubule cells subjected to ischemia.

Renal cortex was studied during experimentally induced ischemia. A transient increase in anerobic glycolysis occurred with concomitant swelling of both the Golgi apparatus and mitochondria. These intracytoplasmic organelles underwent marked changes in their intracellular positions. Infolding of cytoplasmic membrane at the basal side of proximal tubule cells increased in complexity and proceeded to enclose various intracytoplasmic microorganelles such as mitochondria and the Golgi apparatus. Piling up in layers was particularly marked around mitochondria. This piling up appeared as myelin-like structures on the free surface of, and within, proximal tubule cells, and followed disruption of the brush border at the free surface. Histological examination of thin sections showed that the fused portions of this brush border were actually brush border cytoplasmic membrane piled up in layers giving the appearance of myelin-like structures. After two hours of ischemia, parts of the membrane of these myelin-like structures were disrupted. Large vacuoles developed and these were thought to be related to the large vacuoles seen during cell degeneration.