We observed the structure of collagen fibrils in rat tail tendons after treatment with NKISK and cathepsin G. NKISK is a pentapeptide that has been previously shown to bind fibronectin, while cathepsin G is a serine protease that cleaves fibronectin but not type I collagen. In tendons treated with NKISK, fibrils were seen to extensively dissociate into smaller-diameter subfibrils. These subfibrils were homogeneous in diameter with an average diameter of 26.3 ± 5.8 nm. Similar, although less extensive, dissociation into subfibrils was found in tendons treated with cathepsin G. The average diameter of these subfibrils was 24.8 ± 4.9 nm. The ability of NKISK and cathepsin G to release subfibrils at physiological pH without harsh denaturants may enhance the study of the subfibrillar structure of collagen fibrils.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3156675PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmicro/dfr005DOI Listing

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