Abstract
Degenerative changes in tendons are common in human and land-dwelling vertebrates of all species, and are associated with both age and use. Tendon rupture and inflammation are common causes of lameness in broilers and breeders at multiple ages and has become a very important issue in the poultry industry attempts to analyze tendon health have relied primarily on visual assessment. The ability to conduct meaningful experiments on causes and interventions would be much improved by a direct assay of tendon structural integrity. The objective of this study is to test whether we can use Fourier transform-second harmonic generation (FT-SHG) imaging technique to quantify the differences in collagen fiber organization and nuclei morphology between normal and injured chicken tendons. Tendon injury/degeneration was induced by rearing chickens in wire-floor pens and feeding them an oxidized fat diet. Injured tendons had greater collagen fiber degradation/degeneration; more randomly organized collagen fibers, higher cellularity and more circular-shaped nuclei than normal tendons, indicating loss of collagen tertiary structure and lateral compression in injured tendons. Therefore, analysis of collagen fiber organization and nuclear morphology using FT-SHG imaging is a potential diagnostic tool to evaluate tendon structural health and to test the effects of nutrients and intervention strategies on the structural development of tendons in chickens.
Highlights
Collagen fibers are the main structural component of tendons
The purpose of this study is to determine whether Fourier transform-second harmonic generation (FT-SHG) imaging can be used to quantify the structural differences between normal tendon and injured/damaged tendon
Inflammation can provoke the release of growth factors and cytokines [29], which stimulate tenocyte proliferation and collagen synthesis and improve tendon healing [30]
Summary
Collagen fibers are the main structural component of tendons. Degenerative changes in tendons are common in land-dwelling vertebrates of all species, and are associated with both age and use. Various techniques have been developed to assess collagen structural health. Researchers have used quantitative polarized-light microscopy to detect the degree of collagen parallelism in cartilage of porcine joints [4] and to evaluate collagen fiber organization in horse tendons [5]. We have developed a quantitative SHG imaging and analysis technique using Fast Fourier Transformation (FT-SHG) [8] to quantify and analyze collagen fiber organization in horse tendons [5,9]. FT-SHG can quantify the extent of collagen disorganization in different tissue types in multiple species and is proving to be a much more powerful tool than other methods, such as polarized light microscopy, to evaluate tendon health and collagen quality [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
