Cartilage: Ethel Marie M. Mangada, RMT

Cartilage
Ethel Marie M. Mangada, RMT

Cartilage
• ECM is enriched with glycosaminoglycans and
proteoglycans, macromolecules that interact
with collagen and elastic fibers
• smooth-surfaced and resilient, providing a
shock-absorbing and sliding area for joints and
facilitates bone movements
• essential for the development and prenatal
and postnatal growth of long bones
Cartilage
• consists of:
– Chondrocytes- exhibit low metabolic activity
– extensive ECM
[
• Principal macromolecules present in all types of

cartilage ECM
– collagen
– hyaluronic acid
– proteoglycans
– small amounts of several glycoproteins
Cartilage
• ECM is synthesize
and secreted by
chondrocytes which
are located in
matrix cavities
called lacunae
Cartilage
• firm gel-like consistency of cartilage depends
on:
– electrostatic bonds between collagen fibers and
the glycosaminoglycan side chains of matrix
proteoglycans
– binding of water (solvation water) to the
negatively charged glycosaminoglycan chains that
extend from the proteoglycan core proteins.
Cartilage
• variation in matrix composition of three forms of
cartilage:
– hyaline cartilage, the most common form of cartilage
• type II collagen is the principal collagen type
– elastic cartilage, more pliable and distensible
• in addition to collagen type II, possess abundance of elastic
fibers
– fibrocartilage, present in regions of the body
subjected to pulling forces
• characterized by a matrix containing a dense network of
coarse type I collagen fibers
Cartilage
• all three forms are avascular
– Nourishment of cartilage is by the diffusion of nutrients
from capillaries in adjacent connective tissue
(perichondrium) or from synovial fluid in joint cavities
– perichondrium is a sheath of dense connective tissue that
surrounds cartilage in most places
• also lacks lymphatic vessels and nerves
• perichondrium harbors the vascular supply for the
avascular cartilage and also contains nerves and
lymphatic vessels
Cartilage
• Articular cartilage- covers the surfaces of the
bones in movable joints
– devoid of perichondrium and is sustained by the
diffusion of oxygen and nutrients from the
synovial fluid
HYALINE CARTILAGE
Hyaline Cartilage
• most common and
best studied of the
three forms
• Fresh form is
bluish-white and
translucent
• serves as a
temporary skeleton
in the embryo until
it is gradually
replaced by bone
Hyaline Cartilage
• Located in:
– articular surfaces of
the movable joints
– walls of larger
respiratory passages
– ventral ends of ribs
– epiphyseal plate
Matrix
• In routine histology preparations, the collagen is
indiscernible for two reasons:
– collagen is in the form of fibrils which have
submicroscopic dimensions
– refractive index of the fibrils is almost the same as
that of the surrounding substances
• contains primarily type II collagen, although small
amounts of collagen types VI and IX are also present
Schematic representation of the most abundant molecules in cartilage matrix
shows the interaction between type II collagen fibrils and proteoglycans linked to
hyaluronic acid. Link proteins noncovalently bind the protein core of
proteoglycans to the linear hyaluronic acid molecules. The chondroitin sulfate
side chains of the proteoglycan electrostatically bind to the collagen fibrils,
forming a cross-linkedmatrix.
Matrix
• proteoglycans contain:
– chondroitin 4-sulfate
– chondroitin 6-sulfate
– keratan sulfate
• proteoglycans resemble
bottle brushes
– stem- protein core
– bristles-radiating GAG
chains
Matrix
• chondronectin- macromolecule that binds
specifically to GAGs, collagen type II and
integrins, mediating the adherence of
chondrocytes to the ECM
Chondrocytes
• chondrocytes respire under low oxygen tension
• function is hormone dependent.

– Synthesis of sulfated GAGs is accelerated by growth
hormone, thyroxine, and testosterone
– slowed by cortisone, hydrocortisone, and estradiol
• Cartilage growth depends mainly on the pituitary-

derived growth hormone somatotropin
– promotes the endocrine release in the liver of insulin-like
growth factor-1 (IGF-1), somatomedin
Chondrocytes
• young chondrocytes have an elliptic shape, with the
long axis parallel to the surface
– Found at the periphery of hyaline cartilage
• isogenous aggregates - are round chondrocytes and

appear in groups of up to eight cells originating from
mitotic divisions of a single
Perichondrium
• Perichondrium- layer of dense connective tissue that
covers all hyaline cartilage except the articular
cartilage of joints
– essential for the growth and maintenance of
cartilage
• consists largely of collagen type I fibers and contains
numerous fibroblasts
• cells on the inner layer are precursors for
chondroblasts which divide and differentiate into
chondrocytes
ELASTIC CARTILAGE
Elastic Cartilage
• Contains collagen type II fibrils
• similar to hyaline cartilage except that it contains an
abundant network of fine elastic fibers
• possesses a perichondrium
• frequently found to be gradually continuous with
hyaline cartilage
• Fresh elastic cartilage- yellowish in color owing to
the presence of elastin in the elastic fibers
Elastic Cartilage
• found in:
– auricle of the ear
– walls of the external
auditory canals
– auditory (eustachian)
tubes
– epiglottis
– cuneiform cartilage in
the larynx
FIBROCARTILAGE
FIbrocartilage
• intermediate between dense connective tissue and
hyaline cartilage
– always associated with dense connective tissue
• chondrocytes either singly or in isogenous
aggregates, usually arranged axially, in long rows
separated by coarse collagen type I fibers
– richer in collagen type I, the fibrocartilage matrix
is more acidophilic
• less proteoglycans than other forms of cartilage
FIbrocartilage
• found in:
– intervertebral
disks
– In attachments of
certain ligaments
– in the pubic
symphysis
FIbrocartilage
• Intervertebral disks are composed of
fibrocartilage
– two major histological components of each disk:
• peripheral annulus fibrosus- rich in bundles of type I
collagen
• central nucleus pulposus- with a gel-like matrix rich in
hyaluronic acid
• Intervertebral disks act as lubricated cushions
and shock absorbers
CARTILAGE FORMATION,GROWTH
AND REPAIR
• All cartilage derives from the embryonic mesenchyme
in the process of chondrogenesis
• chondroblasts, have a ribosome-rich basophilic

cytoplasm. Synthesis and deposition of the matrix then
begin to separate the chondroblasts from one another
• differentiation of cartilage takes place primarily from

the center outward:
– chondrocytes more central cell
– typical chondroblasts peripheral cells
– superficial mesenchyme develops into the perichondrium
• Further growth of cartilage is attributable to
two processes:
– interstitial growth- resulting from the mitotic
division of preexisting chondrocytes
• occurs in the epiphyseal plates of long bones
and within articular cartilage
• important in increasing the length of long
bones
– appositional growth- resulting from the
differentiation of perichondrial cells
• more important postnatally

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Cartilage

Ethel Marie M. Mangada, RMT

• Principal macromolecules present in all types of

• function is hormone dependent.

• Cartilage growth depends mainly on the pituitary-

• isogenous aggregates - are round chondrocytes and

• chondroblasts, have a ribosome-rich basophilic

• differentiation of cartilage takes place primarily from

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