Claassen Horst, Schicht Martin, Fleiner Bernd, Hillmann Ralf, Hoogeboom Sebastian, Tillmann Bernhard, Paulsen Friedrich
Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), Halle, Germany (HC).
Institute of Anatomy (HC, RH, BT) and Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (BF), Kiel, Germany.
J Histochem Cytochem. 2017 Jun;65(6):367-379. doi: 10.1369/0022155417703025. Epub 2017 Apr 7.
Laryngeal cartilages undergo a slow ossification process during aging, making them an excellent model for studying cartilage mineralization and ossification processes. Pig laryngeal cartilages are similar to their human counterparts in shape and size, also undergo mineralization, facilitating the study of cartilage mineralization. We investigated the processes of cartilage mineralization and ossification and compared these with the known processes in growth plates. Thyroid cartilages from glutaraldehyde-perfused male minipigs and from domestic pigs were used for X-ray, light microscopic, and transmission electron microscopic analyses. We applied different fixation and postfixation solutions to preserve cell shape, proteoglycans, and membranes. In contrast to the ossifying human thyroid cartilage, predominantly cartilage mineralization was observed in minipig and domestic pig thyroid cartilages. The same subset of chondrocytes responsible for growth plate mineralization is also present in thyroid cartilage mineralization. Besides mineralization mediated by matrix vesicles, a second pattern of cartilage mineralization was observed in thyroid cartilage only. Here, the formation and growth of crystals were closely related to collagen fibrils, which served as guide rails for the expansion of mineralization. It is hypothesized that the second pattern of cartilage mineralization may be similar to a maturation of mineralized cartilage after initial matrix vesicles-mediated cartilage mineralization.
喉软骨在衰老过程中经历缓慢的骨化过程，使其成为研究软骨矿化和骨化过程的理想模型。猪的喉软骨在形状和大小上与人类相似，也会发生矿化，这有助于软骨矿化的研究。我们研究了软骨矿化和骨化过程，并将其与生长板中的已知过程进行比较。使用来自经戊二醛灌注的雄性小型猪和家猪的甲状软骨进行X射线、光学显微镜和透射电子显微镜分析。我们应用不同的固定和后固定溶液来保存细胞形态、蛋白聚糖和细胞膜。与正在骨化的人类甲状软骨不同，在小型猪和家猪的甲状软骨中主要观察到软骨矿化。负责生长板矿化的同一群软骨细胞也存在于甲状软骨矿化过程中。除了由基质小泡介导的矿化外，仅在甲状软骨中观察到第二种软骨矿化模式。在这里，晶体的形成和生长与胶原纤维密切相关，胶原纤维为矿化的扩展提供了导轨。据推测，第二种软骨矿化模式可能类似于初始基质小泡介导的软骨矿化后矿化软骨的成熟过程。
