Figure 7.

Representative images of a rat tail tendon fascicle following fibrillar damage. (a) Presence of the crimp pattern on the bottom of the tendon fascicle (arrows) indicates the site of isolated fibrillar damage. (b) In situ hybridization of the tendon fascicle reveals interstitial collagenase mRNA expression in those cells associated with the damaged fibril(s). The borders of the tendon fascicle are delineated by lines. (bar = 100 μm). Reprinted from Lavagnino et al. (2006a). Isolated fibrillar damage in tendons stimulates local collagenase mRNA expression and protein synthesis. J. Biomech. 39, 2355–2362, with permission from Elsevier.)