Abstract
IT has previously been shown, chiefly by X-ray diffraction, that the intercellular matrices of connective tissues contain four main non-collagenous proteins in addition to collagen fibrils1,2. Three of these proteins occur as major components of the intervertebral disks. They have been provisionally described as: (a) An immature β-protein, which is present in infants and young children, (b) A mature β-protein, present in adolescents and in increasing proportions in middle age. This protein is also produced in quantity in prolapsed disk tissue, (c) A dense β-protein which, in normal disks, is present in increasing quantity from about age 45–50 onwards. In other tissues, such as the ligamentum flavum, elastic tissue is also present.
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References
Little, K., and Taylor, T. K. F., Age with a Future, 311 (Munksgaard, 1964).
Taylor, T. K. F., and Little, K., Nature, 208, 384 (1965).
Partridge, S. M., Elsden, D. F., and Thomas, J., Nature, 197, 1297 (1963).
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MOSCHI, A., LITTLE, K. Fluorescent Properties of the Non-collagenous Components of the Intervertebral Disk. Nature 212, 722 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/212722a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/212722a0
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