Abstract
Bone loss varies according to disease and age and these variations affect bone cells and extracellular matrix. Osteoporosis rat models are widely investigated to assess mechanical and structural properties of bone; however, bone matrix proteins and their discrepant regulation of diseased and aged bone are often overlooked. The current study considered the spine matrix properties of ovariectomized rats (OVX) against control rats (Sham) at 16 months of age. Diseased bone showed less compact structure with inhomogeneous distribution of type 1 collagen (Col1) and changes in osteocyte morphology. Intriguingly, demineralization patches were noticed in the vicinity of blood vessels in the OVX spine. The organic matrix structure was investigated using computational segmentation of collagen fibril properties. In contrast to the aged bone, diseased bone showed longer fibrils and smaller orientation angles. The study shows the potential of quantifying transmission electron microscopy images to predict the mechanical properties of bone tissue.
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Acknowledgements
This is a multicenter study and part of the Collaborating Research Center funding program SFB-/Transregio TRR 79 of the German Research Foundation (DFG) for subprojects T1, Z2, B7, and B12. The authors would also like to thank Annette Stengel, Ida Oberst, and Iris Schulz from Experimental Trauma Surgery (Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany) for their invaluable help and excellent technical assistance.
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Daghma, D.E.S., Malhan, D., Simon, P. et al. Computational segmentation of collagen fibers in bone matrix indicates bone quality in ovariectomized rat spine. J Bone Miner Metab 36, 297–306 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00774-017-0844-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00774-017-0844-5