Sherratt Michael J, Baldock Clair, Haston J Louise, Holmes David F, Jones Carolyn J P, Shuttleworth C Adrian, Wess Timothy J, Kielty Cay M
Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, 2.205 Stopford Building, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
J Mol Biol. 2003 Sep 5;332(1):183-93. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(03)00829-5.
Fibrillin-rich microfibrils have endowed tissues with elasticity throughout multicellular evolution. We have used molecular combing techniques to determine Young's modulus for individual microfibrils and X-ray diffraction of zonular filaments of the eye to establish the linearity of microfibril periodic extension. Microfibril periodicity is not altered at physiological zonular tissue extensions and Young's modulus is between 78 MPa and 96 MPa, which is two orders of magnitude stiffer than elastin. We conclude that elasticity in microfibril-containing tissues arises primarily from reversible alterations in supra-microfibrillar arrangements rather than from intrinsic elastic properties of individual microfibrils which, instead, act as reinforcing fibres in fibrous composite tissues.
富含原纤蛋白的微原纤维在多细胞生物进化过程中赋予组织弹性。我们运用分子梳理技术测定单个微原纤维的杨氏模量，并利用眼部悬韧带细丝的X射线衍射来确定微原纤维周期性伸展的线性关系。在生理状态下悬韧带组织伸展时，微原纤维的周期性并未改变，其杨氏模量在78兆帕至96兆帕之间，比弹性蛋白硬两个数量级。我们得出结论，含微原纤维组织的弹性主要源于超微原纤维排列的可逆变化，而非单个微原纤维的固有弹性特性，单个微原纤维在纤维复合组织中起到增强纤维的作用。
