Collagen Orientation (collagen + orientation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Collagen orientation in periosteum and perichondrium is aligned with preferential directions of tissue growth

JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 9 2008
Jasper Foolen
Abstract A feedback mechanism between different tissues in a growing bone is thought to determine the bone's morphogenesis. Cartilage growth strains the surrounding tissues, eliciting alterations of its matrix, which in turn, creates anisotropic stresses, guiding directionality of cartilage growth. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this hypothesis by determining whether collagen fiber directions in the perichondrium and periosteum align with the preferential directions of long bone growth. Tibiotarsi from chicken embryos across developmental stages were scanned using optical projection tomography (OPT) to assess preferential directions of growth at characteristic sites in perichondrium and periosteum. Quantified morphometric data were compared with two-photon laser-scanning microscopy images of the three-dimensional collagen network in these fibrous tissues. The diaphyseal periosteum contained longitudinally oriented collagen fibers that aligned with the preferential growth direction. Longitudinal growth at both metaphyses was twice the circumferential growth. This concurred with well-developed circumferential fibers, which covered and were partly interwoven with a dominant network of longitudinally oriented fibers in the outer layer of the perichondrium/periosteum at the metaphysis. Toward both articulations, the collagen network of the epiphyseal surface was randomly oriented, and growth was approximately biaxial. These findings support the hypothesis that the anisotropic architecture of the collagen network, detected in periosteum and perichondrium, concurs with the assessed growth directions. © 2008 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 26:1263,1268, 2008 [source]


Masticatory Loading, Function, and Plasticity: A Microanatomical Analysis of Mammalian Circumorbital Soft-Tissue Structures

THE ANATOMICAL RECORD : ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2010
Eldin Ja, arevi
Abstract In contrast to experimental evidence regarding the postorbital bar, postorbital septum, and browridge, there is exceedingly little evidence regarding the load-bearing nature of soft-tissue structures of the mammalian circumorbital region. This hinders our understanding of pronounced transformations during primate origins, in which euprimates evolved a postorbital bar from an ancestor with the primitive mammalian condition where only soft tissues spanned the lateral orbital margin between frontal bone and zygomatic arch. To address this significant gap, we investigated the postorbital microanatomy of rabbits subjected to long-term variation in diet-induced masticatory stresses. Rabbits exhibit a masticatory complex and feeding behaviors similar to primates, yet retain a more primitive mammalian circumorbital region. Three cohorts were obtained as weanlings and raised on different diets until adult. Following euthanasia, postorbital soft tissues were dissected away, fixed, and decalcified. These soft tissues were divided into inferior, intermediate, and superior units and then dehydrated, embedded, and sectioned. H&E staining was used to characterize overall architecture. Collagen orientation and complexity were evaluated via picrosirius-red staining. Safranin-O identified proteoglycan content with additional immunostaining performed to assess Type-II collagen expression. Surprisingly, the ligament along the lateral orbital wall was composed of elastic fibrocartilage. A more degraded organization of collagen fibers in this postorbital fibrocartilage is correlated with increased masticatory forces due to a more fracture-resistant diet. Furthermore, the lack of marked changes in the extracellular composition of the lateral orbital wall related to tissue viscoelasticity suggests it is unlikely that long-term exposure to elevated masticatory stresses underlies the development of a bony postorbital bar. Anat Rec, 293:642,650, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Intact corneal stroma visualization of GFP mouse revealed by multiphoton imaging

MICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 12 2006
Wen Lo
Abstract The aim of this work is to demonstrate that multiphoton microscopy is a preferred technique to investigate intact cornea structure without slicing and staining. At the micron resolution, multiphoton imaging can provide both large morphological features and detailed structure of epithelium, corneal collagen fibril bundles and keratocytes. A large area multiphoton cross-section across an intact eye excised from a GFP mouse was obtained by a homebuilt multiphoton microscope. The broadband multiphoton fluorescence (435,700 nm) and second harmonic generation (SHG, 360,400 nm) signals were generated by the 760 nm output of a femtosecond titanium-sapphire laser. A water immersion objective (Fluor Ô, 40X, NA 0.8; Nikon) was used to facilitate imaging the curve ocular surface. The multiphoton image over entire cornea provides morphological information of epithelial cells, keratocytes, and global collagen orientation. Specifically, our planar, large area multiphoton image reveals a concentric pattern of the stroma collagen, indicative of the laminar collagen organization throughout the stroma. In addition, the green fluorescence protein (GFP) labeling contributed to fluorescence contrast of cellular area and facilitated visualizing of inactive keratocytes. Our results show that multiphoton imaging of GFP labeled mouse cornea manifests both morphological significance and structural details. The second harmonic generation imaging reveals the collagen orientation, while the multiphoton fluorescence imaging indicates morphology and distribution of cells in cornea. Our results support that multiphoton microscopy is an appropriate technology for further in vivo investigation and diagnosis of cornea. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]