The Three-Dimensional ‘Knit’ of Collagen Fibrils in Articular Cartilage

TEM stereoscopy of thick sections has been used to reconstruct the 3-dimensional relationships of collagen fibrils in the general matrix of articular cartilage in its relaxed and deformed states. As well as identifying a variety of fibril interactions involving direct physical entwinement which are assumed to provide matrix cohesion the study also highlights the functional importance of the repeatedly kinked morphology exhibited by the radial fibrils. It is suggested that these fibril kinks, in accommodating local compressive strains that approach 100%, function as macro-molecular hinges and permit the collagen elements to undergo large spatial rearrangement without risk to their structural integrity.