Figure 5.

Reduced histochemical staining for proteoglycans associated with disrupted fibril structure and organization in the 952delTDcn transgenic mouse. A: In wild-type mice, cuprolinic blue reaction is associated with collagen fibrils. Note that the electron-dense deposits that label glycosaminoglycan side chains of the SLRPs are distributed along the fibril surface in a regular and periodic fashions. These proteoglycans extend into the interfibrillar space (white arrows). B: Marked reduction in cuprolinic blue-labeled SLRPs in 952delTDcn transgenic mouse corneas. Notice that the collagen fibrils exhibit decreased interaction relative to the control corneas. In addition, there is no accumulation of cuprolinic blue staining in the electron lucent substance indicative of proteoglycan sequestration. Thin arrows indicate relatively small-diameter fibrils; thick arrow indicates larger-diameter fibrils.