Yu Jing, Tirlapur Uday, Fairbank Jeremy, Handford Penny, Roberts Sally, Winlove C Peter, Cui Zhanfeng, Urban Jill
Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, UK.
J Anat. 2007 Apr;210(4):460-71. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2007.00707.x.
The distribution of microfibrils was studied immunohistochemically in intervertebral discs taken from young normal human surgical cases and from the bovine tail. Co-localization of microfibrils and elastin fibres was examined by dual immunostaining of fibrillin-1 and elastin. Collagen fibre network orientation was studied by using polarized filters. A similar microfibrillar network was seen in both bovine and human discs with network organization being completely different from region to region. In the outer annulus fibrosus (OAF), abundant microfibrils organized in bundles were mainly distributed in the interterritorial matrix. In addition, the microfibril bundles were orientated parallel to each other and co-localized highly with elastin fibres. Within each lamella, co-localized microfibrils and elastin fibres were aligned in the same direction as the collagen fibres. In the interlamellar space, a dense co-localized network, staining for both microfibrils and elastin fibres, was apparent; immunostaining for both molecules was noticeably stronger than within lamellae. In the inner annulus fibrosus, the microfibrils were predominantly visible as a filamentous mesh network, both in the interterritorial matrix and also around the cells. The microfibrils in this region co-localized with elastin fibres far less than in the OAF. In nucleus pulposus, filamentous microfibrils were organized mainly around the cells where elastin fibres were hardly detected. By contrast, sparse elastin fibres, with a few of microfibrils, were visible in the interterritorial matrix. The results of this study suggest the microfibrillar network of the annulus may play a mechanical role while that around the cells of the nucleus may be more involved in regulating cell function.
通过免疫组织化学方法研究了取自年轻正常人类手术病例的椎间盘和牛尾巴椎间盘内微原纤维的分布情况。通过对原纤蛋白-1和弹性蛋白进行双重免疫染色，检测微原纤维与弹性纤维的共定位情况。利用偏光滤光片研究胶原纤维网络的取向。在牛和人的椎间盘中均观察到类似的微原纤维网络，但其网络结构在不同区域完全不同。在外层纤维环（OAF）中，大量成束排列的微原纤维主要分布在区域间基质中。此外，微原纤维束彼此平行排列，并与弹性纤维高度共定位。在每个板层内，共定位的微原纤维和弹性纤维与胶原纤维的排列方向相同。在板层间隙中，微原纤维和弹性纤维均染色的密集共定位网络明显可见；两种分子的免疫染色在板层间隙中明显强于板层内。在中层纤维环中，微原纤维主要以丝状网状结构形式可见，存在于区域间基质和细胞周围。该区域的微原纤维与弹性纤维的共定位程度远低于外层纤维环。在髓核中，丝状微原纤维主要围绕细胞排列，几乎检测不到弹性纤维。相比之下，在区域间基质中可见稀疏的弹性纤维和少量微原纤维。本研究结果表明，纤维环的微原纤维网络可能发挥机械作用，而髓核细胞周围的微原纤维网络可能更多地参与调节细胞功能。
