Hierarchical model of fibrillar collagen organization for interpreting the second-order susceptibility tensors in biological tissue

摘要

The second-order nonlinear polarization properties of fibrillar collagen in various rat tissues (vertebrae, tibia, tail tendon, dermis, and cornea) are investigated with polarization-dependent second-harmonic generation (P-SHG) microscopy. Three parameters are extracted: the second-order susceptibility ratio, R = χZZZ(2)′/χZXX(2)′; a measure of the fibril distribution asymmetry, A and the weighted-average fibril orientation, 〈δ〉. A hierarchical organizational model of fibrillar collagen is developed to interpret the second-harmonic generation polarization properties. Highlights of the model include: collagen type (e.g., type-I, type-II), fibril internal structure (e.g., straight, constant-tilt), and fibril architecture (e.g., parallel fibers, intertwined, lamellae). Quantifiable differences in internal structure and architecture of the fibrils are observed. Occurrence histograms of R and A distinguished parallel from nonparallel fibril distributions. Parallel distributions possessed low parameter values and variability, whereas nonparallel distributions displayed an increase in values and variability. From the P-SHG parameters of vertebrae tissue, a three-dimensional reconstruction of lamellae of intervertebral disk is presented.