Histochemical studies on peroxisomes in regenerating proximal tubules of the kidney.

Peroxisomes of the regenerating proximal tubules of the rat kidney were investigated after necrosis induced by mercuric chloride. Slices both for light and electron microscopic examinations were incubated in 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) medium. Peroxisomes were absent in the necrotic epithelium. They appeared on the fourth day of regeneration and later their number increased reaching the normal distribution in the fourth week. They seem to be needed for the functional differentiation of the proximal tubule cells during regeneration.