15502-m-pleumeekers

Figure 3. Biochemical analysis shows distinct differences in composition between cartilage types. Although ala nasi cartilage and septum bear strong similarities in tissue architecture they significantly differ in DNA and sGAG content ( p =0.001 and p =0.024 respectively). The nasal cartilages contain very limited elastin. This might be partially attributable to connective tissue remnants though caution was taken to remove these as much as possible. *, ** or *** indicates p-value smaller than 0.05, 0.01 or 0.001 respectively compared to the other cartilage types. Per cartilage subtype, the effective Young’s modulus was not significantly correlated with cell density, sGAG or collagen content. However, in septal cartilage, low elastin content was associated with higher stiffness. (Table 1) Multiphoton Microscopy The cartilage samples of two donors were imaged in the mid segment in the sagittal plane. The second harmonic (SHG) and two-photon fluorescence (2PF) microscopy generated showed a distinct difference between ear cartilage and the cartilage of nasal origin. (Figure 4) Not only the absence of elastin fibers (green) was evident, also the general structure of nasal cartilages was different from the ear. Cartilage from the nasal area gives a much more diffuse image compared to the dense fibrous network of the ear cartilage. Chondrons, agglomerates of chondrocytes within their pericellular matrix, appeared larger in the ala nasi than in the septum in both donors. 51 FACIAL CARTILAGE CHARACTERISTICS 3