[Morphological research on DMSO-perfused kidneys].

It is reported on the morphological investigations of kidneys which had been perfused with the cryoprotective dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Some of these kidneys were stored for 72 hours at -4.5 degrees C and then retransplanted. The light-microscopic and electron-optical findings show considerable changes of the cells of the proximal tubulus epithelium and the collecting tubules. These in most cases focal findings of different extension do not differ on principle from the results in preservation techniques without DMSO. The dilatation of the basal labyrinth of the tubulus cell as well as the fissuration and vacuolization in the cytoplasm give references to a passive transport of substance by the cell. The results of the DMSO-perfused and at -4.5 degrees C stored kidneys show that for a beginning of the function an optimal perfusion must be supposed. On the one hand a sufficient concentration of freezing defense remedies in the renal tissue is necessary, on the other hand an optimum removal of the DMSO in the reperfusion is necessary, in order to keep the osmotic load of the kidney as low as possible.