Quantitative analysis of types I and II collagens in human intervertebral discs at various ages

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Abstract

The molecular species of collagen in the human intervertebral disc have been identified and measured quantitatively by assay for specific peptides produced by digestion of whole tissue with cyanogen bromide. As previously found in the pig, the annulus fibrosus of lumbar intervertebral discs contained two genetically distinct molecular types of collagen, types I and II, whereas predominantly type II collagen was found in the nucleus pulposus. In each tissue the proportion of hydroxylysine residues in the total collagen that were glycosylated gave support to these findings, even though the contents of hydroxylysine alone provided an unreliable index of molecular type.

The annulus fibrosus of human lumbar discs as a whole contained a considerably higher proportion of type II collagen (50–65% of total collagen) than did pig annulus fibrosus (20% of total collagen). No significant variations with age were found in the relative proportions of types I and II collagens in the annuli fibrosi from lumbar discs of individuals aged 5, 16, 59 and 66 years. At all ages more than 85% of the collagen in the nucleus pulposus was type II. In comparison, using the same procedure in the semi-lunar meniscus of the knee, which is classified as fibrocartilage, at least 95% of the collagen was type I, whereas more than 95% of that in young or old human articular cartilage was type II.

The distributions of each type of collagen were assessed in a radial section of the annulus of T12/L1 of a 5 year old spine. Their relative proportions varied inversely and smoothly from being almost all type I collagen at the outer edge of the annulus to only type II on reaching the nucleus pulposus. This distribution already shown in pig annulus fibrosus appears to be a characteristic structural feature of this tissue.

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      The intervertebral disc annulus fibrosus is known to be highly heterogeneous with regional dependent microstructure/properties relationships [14–18]. The annulus mechanics changes between the different radial and circumferential regions of the same disc due to the different local quantities of the constituent elements (collagen fibers, proteoglycans, water) and the collagen organization along with interactions with the surrounding physiological medium [14–15,18]. Especially, the transversal strains have been proved recently to show unusual behavior with negative Poisson's ratios in the disc radial direction and Poisson's ratios superior to 0.5 in the disc axial direction under a circumferential loading of the annulus fibrosus [19–22].

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    Present address: Harvard Medical School, Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, Children's Hospital Medical Center, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, U.S.A.

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