Avian tibial dyschondroplasia. III. Electron probe analysis.

Tibial dyschondroplastic (TD) lesions and their associated growth plates, obtained from chickens, were prepared by freeze-drying and embedding in an anhydrous epoxy resin. Quantitative electron probe analysis was performed on dry, unstained sections. Levels of Na, Mg, P, S, Cl, K, and Ca were determined in cytoplasm (endoplasmic reticulum), mitochondria, and extracellular matrix of the proliferative, prehypertrophic, and early hypertrophic zones of the growth plate and in the proximal, mid, and distal regions of the lesion. A zone of calcification in the growth plate was absent. The concentration of elements in all regions of the TD growth plate was the same as found in an earlier study for normal growth plate. The cytoplasm of proximal lesion chondrocytes was similar to that of early hypertrophic chondrocytes. However, in the remainder of the lesion there was a progressive increase in cellular Na, S, Cl, and Ca and a progressive loss of P. In matrix, there was less S and K than expected in all regions of growth plate and lesion, except in the proliferating zone. Also, in matrix of the distal lesion there was less Na and Cl. The levels of Na, S, Cl, and K in matrix may have been lowered by their adsorption into the condensed masses of dead cells. Mitochondria acquire only half as much Ca and P as normal and release it earlier than usual (ie, early prehypertrophic cells, rather than chondrocytes of the lower hypertrophic zone). There were no granules in mitochondria of the cells at all levels of the lesion, even though anhydrous methods were used. The first sign of the disease appears in the matrix of the growth plate, where it seems that S and K are in abnormally low amounts. Although there are sufficient levels of Ca and P present, the matrix does not calcify. The cartilage remains avascular, and the cells appear to be dying. The event that triggers the chondrocytes of the growth plate to form an abnormal uncalcified matrix is not known.