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Optical anisotropy reveals molecular order in a mouse enthesis

Cell and Tissue Research volume 362, pages 177–185 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the São Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP, Brazil) (grants no. 2003/04597-0 and 2013/11078-0). The funders had no role in the study design, the data collection and analysis, the decision to publish or the preparation of the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (Unicamp), 13083-862, Campinas, SP, Brazil

    Benedicto de Campos Vidal, Eli Heber M. dos Anjos & Maria Luiza S. Mello

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  1. Benedicto de Campos Vidal
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  2. Eli Heber M. dos Anjos
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  3. Maria Luiza S. Mello
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Correspondence to Benedicto de Campos Vidal.

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Vidal, B.d.C., dos Anjos, E.H.M. & Mello, M.L.S. Optical anisotropy reveals molecular order in a mouse enthesis. Cell Tissue Res 362, 177–185 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-015-2173-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-015-2173-0

Keywords

  • Enthesis
  • Birefringence
  • Linear dichroism
  • Molecular order
  • Chirality