Biomaterial Database

Ultrastructural changes associated with the mineralization of deer antler cartilage. 1983

J W Newbrey, and W J Banks

The maturation and mineralization of deer antler cartilage were investigated ultrastructurally by using enzymatic digestions and subsequent staining with ruthenium red (RR) or phosphotungstic acid (PTA). RR staining of matrix granules was observed in the immature prechondroblastic matrix and became more intense as the cartilage matured into a mineralized tissue. The granules got larger and more numerically dense in the mature matrix. There were matrix granules that coalesced around matrix vesicles or remnants of such in the mineralized zone. These granules were observed after demineralization, and they were RR and acidic PTA-positive (they were not susceptible to hyaluronidase nor trypsin digestion, however). It appears that the granules were modified such that the matrix vesicle formed a centralized nidus for mineralization. The growth of hydroxyapatite crystals along matrix granules (which in this zone may or may not represent proteoglycan monomers) may have caused the coalescence. Microfibrils associated with matrix granules probably represented the hyaluronic acid core of the large proteoglycan complexes because of their susceptibility to hyaluronidase digestion.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008903	Minerals	Native, inorganic or fossilized organic substances having a definite chemical composition and formed by inorganic reactions. They may occur as individual crystals or may be disseminated in some other mineral or rock. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed; McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)	Mineral
D001857	Bone Matrix	Extracellular substance of bone tissue consisting of COLLAGEN fibers, ground substance, and inorganic crystalline minerals and salts.	Bone Matrices,Matrices, Bone,Matrix, Bone
D002356	Cartilage	A non-vascular form of connective tissue composed of CHONDROCYTES embedded in a matrix that includes CHONDROITIN SULFATE and various types of FIBRILLAR COLLAGEN. There are three major types: HYALINE CARTILAGE; FIBROCARTILAGE; and ELASTIC CARTILAGE.	Cartilages
D003670	Deer	The family Cervidae of 17 genera and 45 species occurring nearly throughout North America, South America, and Eurasia, on most associated continental islands, and in northern Africa. Wild populations of deer have been established through introduction by people in Cuba, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and other places where the family does not naturally occur. They are slim, long-legged and best characterized by the presence of antlers. Their habitat is forests, swamps, brush country, deserts, and arctic tundra. They are usually good swimmers; some migrate seasonally. (Walker's Mammals of the World, 5th ed, p1362)	Deers
D006733	Horns	Either of the pair of hard processes, including ANTLERS, that consist of a BONE core surrounded by a middle KERATIN layer which is in turn covered by EPIDERMIS. They grow from the upper portion of the head of many RUMINANTS.	Horn
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D000999	Antlers	The horn of an animal of the deer family, typically present only in the male. It differs from the HORNS of other animals in being a solid, generally branched bony outgrowth that is shed and renewed annually. The word antler comes from the Latin anteocularis, ante (before) + oculus (eye). (From Webster, 3d ed)	Antler