Mt. Nieminen et al., T-2 relaxation reveals spatial collagen architecture in articular cartilage: A comparative quantitative MRI and polarized light microscopic study, MAGN RES M, 46(3), 2001, pp. 487-493
Citations number
42
Categorie Soggetti
Radiology ,Nuclear Medicine & Imaging","Medical Research Diagnosis & Treatment
It has been suggested that orientational changes in the collagen network of
articular cartilage account for the depthwise T-2 anisotropy of MRI throug
h the magic angle effect. To investigate the relationship between laminar T
-2 appearance and collagen organization (anisotropy), bovine osteochondral
plugs (N = 9) were T-2 mapped at 9.4T with cartilage surface normal to the
static magnetic field. Collagen fibril arrangement of the same samples was
studied with polarized light microscopy, a quantitative technique for probi
ng collagen organization by analyzing its ability to rotate plane polarized
light, i.e., birefringence (BF). Depthwise variation of safranin O-stained
proteoglycans was monitored with digital densitometry, The spatially varyi
ng cartilage T-2 followed the architectural arrangement of the collagen fib
ril network: a linear positive correlation between T-2 and the reciprocal o
f BF was established in each sample, with r = 0.91 +/- 0.02 (mean SEM, N =
9). The current results reveal the close connection between the laminar T-2
structure and the collagen architecture in histologic zones. (C) 2001 Wile
y-Liss, Inc.