Intracellular collagen fibrils: evidence of an intracellular source from experiments with tendon fibroblasts and fibroblastic tumour cells.

This study was designed to substantiate one or both of the two hypotheses for the explanation of intracellular collagen fibrils in collagen-producing cells. The more obvious is the phagocytosis of extracellular collagen fibrils by the cell and the other is a form of autophagocytosis of newly synthesised collagenous products. Information was collected on fibroblasts from murine tendons after exercise and simultaneously stimulating collagen synthesis by treatment with an anabolic steroid hormone. Moreover, in vivo and in vitro fibroblastic tumour cells which demonstrate enhanced protein synthesis were also treated with the anabolic steroid. The findings of intracellular collagen fibrils in tendon fibroblasts and the sarcoma cells after experimentally stimulating collagen synthesis are discussed in the light of the hypothesis that the findings may represent steps of autophagocytosis of newly synthesised collagenous products in the absence of a control mechanism to remove collagenous products which cannot be secreted.