Subfibrillar architecture and functional properties of collagen : a comparative study in rat tendons

• Published in: Journal of anatomy Vol. 172; pp. 157 - 164
• Main Authors: RASPANTI, M, OTTANI, V, RUGGERI, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell 01-10-1990
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Biomechanical Phenomena; Collagen - physiology; Collagen - ultrastructure; Freeze Fracturing; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Male; Microscopy, Electron; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Striated muscle. Tendons; Tendons - physiology; Tendons - ultrastructure; Vertebrates: osteoarticular system, musculoskeletal system; Scanning electron microscopy; Rat; Rodentia; Glycoproteins; Structure function relationship; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Transmission electron microscopy; Ultrastructure; Collagen; Adult animal; Comparative study; Fibril; Tendon
• ISSN: 0021-8782; 1469-7580

Collagen fibrils from different rat tendons have been investigated by freeze-fracture and transmission electron microscopy. In all cases, marked differences in both fibril morphology and subfibrillar organisation have been consistently found between the tendon core (composed of large and heterogeneous fibrils comprising tightly-packed, straight, parallel molecules) and sheath (showing small, uniform collagen fibrils with a helical arrangement of the molecules). The bio-mechanical requirements to which these tissues are subjected suggest, as do previous observations on other tissues, that a causal correlation exists between substructure and collagen fibril function.