Optical anisotropy reveals molecular order in a mouse enthesis

Autor(es)

Vidal, Benedicto de Campos ^[1] ; dos Anjos, Eli Heber M. ^[1] ; Mello, Maria Luiza S. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, UNICAMP, Inst Biol, Dept Struct & Funct Biol, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Cell and Tissue Research; v. 362, n. 1, p. 177-185, OCT 2015.
• Citações Web of Science: 5

Resumo

Entheses are specialized biological structures that functionally anchor tendons to bones. The complexity, mechanical characteristics and properties of the entheses, particularly those related to exercise, mechanical load and pathologies, have been extensively analyzed; however, the macromolecular organization of the enthesis fibers, as assessed by polarization microscopy, has not yet been investigated. Morphological and optical anisotropy characteristics, such as birefringence, linear dichroism (LD) and differential interference contrast (DIC-PLM) properties, are thus analyzed in this study of a healthy adult mouse calcaneal tendon-bone enthesis. The molecular and supramolecular order of collagen and GAGs was determined for the collagen bundles of this enthesis. Based on a birefringence plot pattern as well as on metachromasy and linear dichroism after toluidine blue staining at pH 4.0, a similarity between the calcaneal tendon-bone enthesis and cartilage during ossification may be assumed. This similarity is assumed to favor the adequacy of this enthesis to support a compressive load. Considering that the collagen-proteoglycan complexes and the enthesis fibers themselves have a chiral nature, these structures could be acting via reciprocal signaling with the cellular environment of the enthesis. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 03/04597-0 - Ordem molecular e organização supramolecular em feixes de colágeno: diferenças com a funcionalidade, como suposto efeito de expressão de patogenia, e contribuição metodológica
• Beneficiário: Benedicto de Campos Vidal
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular