Structure and function of glomerular basement membrane.

The glomerular basement membrane (GBM) is thin extracellular matrices which separate the visceral epithelium of the glomerulus from the capillary endothelium and serves as a filter for blood molecules. GBMs are composed of type IV collagen, laminin, heparan sulfate proteoglycan, entactin/nidogen, fibronectin and other minor glycoproteins which are not characterized. Recent technological advances have been made in determing the protein and gene structure of these proteins. This article will review the current informations of GBM constituents, structure and function.