Deer antler does not represent a typical endochondral growth system: immunoidentification of collagen type X but little collagen type II in growing antler tissue

G J Rucklidge, G Milne, K J Bos, C Farquharson, S P Robins

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The collagen isotypes present at early (6 week) and late (5 month) stages of growing deer antler were isolated and identified. Pepsin-digested collagens were separated by differential salt fractionation, SDS-PAGE and Western blotting and subsequently identified by immunostaining. Cyanogen bromide digestion of antler tissue was used to establish a collagen type-specific pattern of peptides, and these were also identified by immunoblotting. Collagen type I was found to be the major collagen in both early- and late-stage antler. Collagen type II was present in the young antler in small amounts but was not confined to the soft "cartilaginous" tip of the antler. Collagen type XI was found in the pepsin digest of the young antler, but collagen type IX was not present at either stage of antler growth. Collagen type X was found in the young antler in all fractions studied. Microscopic study showed that the deer antler did not possess a discrete growth plate as found in endochondral bone growth. Unequivocal immunolocalization of the different collagen types in the antler were unsuccessful. These results show that, despite the presence in the antler of many cartilage collagens, growth does not occur through a simple endochondral process.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)303-8
Number of pages6
JournalComparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Volume118
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - Oct 1997

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Animals
  • Antlers
  • Blotting, Western
  • Bone Development
  • Collagen
  • Cyanogen Bromide
  • Deer
  • Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel
  • Immunoblotting
  • Immunohistochemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Deer antler does not represent a typical endochondral growth system: immunoidentification of collagen type X but little collagen type II in growing antler tissue'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this