Filaments and granules in mitochondrial vacuoles in chondrocytes

Abstract

As chondrocytes degenerate mitochondria frequently become vacuolated. Vacuoles seem to form by an invagination of mitochondria into their own matrix followed by cytoplasmic invasion. The bounding membrane of vacuoles and the electron dense granules which are intermittently dispersed around its periphery are positive when stained with phosphotungstic acid and with silver nitrate methenamine after periodic acid oxidation, indicating the presence of glycoprotein; they are also positive after staining with colloidal iron and bismuth nitrate, indicating the presence of acid proteoglycans. Within vacuoles and apparently arising from their glycoprotein proteoglycan boundary are small filaments composed of granular and filamentous protions. Vacuoles and their contents are exocytosed thus accounting for the presence of granules and filaments in pericellular lacunae. In pericellular lacunae and in the extracellular matrix, filaments interconnect with granules or with collagen fibrils, or both. Filaments decrease in number as the distance from the cell increases, while granules decrease in size but remain numerous. Filaments and granules decrease in the extracellular matrix as collagen fibrils aggregate and as the matric calcifies. Thus, they may play a role in aggregation of collagen fibrils. Filaments and granules also decrease with increasing age. Filaments and granules do not seem to be derived from Golgi vacuoles. They are present in costal, tracheal, and epiphyseal cartilage in three different species of animals.