[ACE inhibitor effects on structure and function of the glomerular basement membrane].
Metabolism of proteins which compose capillary basement membrane is altered in diabetic patients. In the kidney, this leads to an impaired permselectivity of glomerular basement membrane and consequently to onset of proteinuria. Proteinuria which is often increased by hemodynamic factors, initiates and promotes the development of diabetic glomerusclerosis. Aside from near-normal metabolic control, special antihypertensive treatment can reduce proteinuria and retard loss of kidney function in proteinuric diabetic patients. The beneficial effect of ACE-inhibitors on course of diabetic nephropathy is generally thought to be a consequence of decreased systemic and intraglomerular pressure. However, recent longterm studies in Type I and Type II diabetic patients with nephropathy showed that ACE-inhibition can reduce proteinuria independent from their hemodynamic effects and, thus, improves the filtration properties of glomerular basement membrane. This may be due to an influence of ACE-inhibition on metabolism of basement membrane proteins.