The effect of prolonged prednisone treatment on human costal cartilage.

Costal cartilage (biopsy) from a 13-year-old boy receiving prolonged prednisone treatment (discontinuously from 2 6/12 to 13 11/12 years) for hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy has been studied and compared with costal cartilage from untreated individuals. Optical and electron microscopic studies including histochemistry have been employed. Chondrocyte degeneration characterized by lipidic material and glycogen in cells is enhanced following prednisone treatment. Acid proteoglycans are reduced in comparison to those in the untreated controls. Amianthoid (asbestoid) collagen fibers, derived from electron-dense bodies which represent remnants of degenerating chondrocytes, occur in all cartilages. A type of collagen similar to fibrous long-spacing collagen has been observed and is prominent in cartilage from the prednisone-treated individual. Evidence suggests that this type of collagen is cellular in origin and represents a transitional form of native collagen. Morphologic changes suggestive of aging are present following prolonged prednisone treatment.