Maturation of the Meniscal Collagen Structure Revealed by Polarization-Resolved and Directional Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy

International audienceWe report polarization-resolved Second Harmonic Generation (p-SHG) and directional SHG (forward and backward, F/B) measurements of equine foetal and adult collagen in meniscus, over large field-of-views using sample-scanning. Large differences of collagen structure and fibril orientation with maturation are revealed, validating the potential for this novel methodology to track such changes in meniscal structure. The foetal menisci had a non-organized and more random collagen fibrillar structure when compared with adult using P-SHG. For the latter, clusters of homogeneous fibril orientation (inter-fibrillar areas) were revealed, separated by thick fibers. F/B SHG showed numerous different features in adults notably, in thick fibers compared to interfibrillar areas, unlike foetal menisci that showed similar patterns for both directions. This work confirms previous studies and improves the understanding of meniscal collagen structure and its maturation, and makes f/B and p-SHG good candidates for future studies aiming at revealing structural modifications to meniscus due to pathologies. The meniscus is a semilunar fibrocartilaginous structure interposed between the femoral condyle and the tibial plateau in the knee joint. The meniscus is essential for load transmission across the articular surfaces, for femo-rotibial joint stability and for long-term joint health 1. Degradation of the meniscal tissue can increase articular cartilage strain 2 , and may lead to cartilage degeneration and osteoarthritis 3. Knowledge of the complex structure of the meniscal extracellular matrix (ECM) has increased thanks to emerging technologies for in situ imaging of intact specimens, such as Optical Projection Tomography (OPT) 4. In particular the arrangement of meniscal fascicles 4 , its tie-fiber organization 5 , and the menisco-tibial ligament insertion transition have all recently been revealed by investigation of bovine samples 6. SHG microscopy is a recent and powerful technique to image the structure of biological specimens as it provides submicron spatial resolution, has low phototoxicity and a high depth selectivity and penetration. In this respect, SHG imaging is similar to multiphoton-excited fluorescence microscopy 7. However, important differences exist: it is a coherent process sensitive to the phase-matching conditions where the measured signal arises from constructive/destructive interferences, it is also instantaneous and free from photobleaching as the signal conversion is due to a structural arrangement and does not involve electronic transition 8. SHG micros-copy has been used to image fibrillar collagen in specimens including type II collagen in articular cartilage 9-16. Furthermore, because of its coherent nature, the detection of the signal in the direction of propagation (forward-F) provides different imaging features compared to the backward (B) direction 17. The F/B ratio increases with the level of homogeneity of noncentrosymmetric structures within the focal volume and has been related to the size of the collagen fibrils for collagen rich tissues 18,19