A comparative study on the occurrence and activity of extracellular matrix vesicles in young and adult rat maxillary bone.

The occurrence of matrix vesicles in the maxillary bone of normal young and adult rats was demonstrated by both ultrastructural and enzymatic studies. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the vesicles are invested in trilaminar membranes. Occasionally, crystals were found both within the vesicles and in the surrounding matrix. Separated fractions of vesicles, membranes, and cells were studied biochemically. The amounts of vesicular protein and enzymatic activity per gram bone in the adult rats were significantly lower than in the young. This coincides with the higher number of vesicles observed in the TEM specimens of young rats when compared to that in the old ones. The specific activities of all enzymes examined in the three bone fractions obtained from both young and adult rats were similar. This indicates that no significant difference exists in the enzymatic characteristics of matrix vesicles from the maxillary bone of young and adult rats.