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Ultrastructural Evidence for Proteoglycans Mediating an Attachment of Type VI Collagen to Banded Collagen Fibrils

Immunolocalizaton studies of type VI collagen in skin have previously demonstrated that type VI collagen forms a flexible network that anchors large interstitial structures such as nerves, blood vessels, and collagen fibers into the surrounding connective tissues matrix. The purpose of this study is to determine if individual type VI collagen microfilaments might be connected to banded collagen fibrils, thereby stabilizing the network. Solid phase binding assays suggest a specific, high affinity interaction between the core protein of the dermatan sulfate proteoglycan decorin and type VI collagen, and immunocytochemical studies in fetal and neonate rabbit cornea suggest an association of decorin with type VI microfilaments. Other studies in skin and perichondrium have localized decorin to a region between the d and e bands of banded collagen fibrils. However, no direct documentation has demonstrated a specific structural interaction between type VI microfilaments and banded collagen fibrils. We, therefore, sought to determine if type VI microfilaments cross banded collagen fibrils between the “d” and “e” bands.