SYNTHESIS OF ELASTOIDIC FIBERS IN THE ORGAN-CULTURE OF HUMAN DERMIS

Organ cultures of human dermal excisions placed on the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of incubated chick eggs showed that a elastoidic fiber type could be achieved under experimental conditions within 5h. The stages leading up to fiber formation could very well be produced by fibrocytes as well as by the splitting of collagen fibrils. The microfibrils (lacking a periodicity and with a diameter of 60-100Å) are characterized by a strong capacity to bind carbohydrate-proteinrich complexes (proteoglycans and glycoproteins). These then aggreagte to elastoidic fibers. The amorphous fiber center remains strongly attractive for binding cations. This fiber type is then compared to the (elastoidic) fibers present in senile Elastosis and Pseudoxanthoma elasticum. Finally, the possibility of using CAM-cultures as experimental means for simulating such diseases in discussed. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.