Microfibrils, elastic anchoring components of the extracellular matrix, are associated with fibronectin in the zonule of Zinn and aorta

Microfibrils are striated tubules that play a role in the formation of elastin fibers by providing a scaffold upon which newly synthesized elastin is deposited. Ultrastructural and staining studies also demonstrate microfibrils that terminate where elastin is sparse or absent in basal laminae, plasma membranes, and the collagenous matrix. The most striking accumulation of microfibrils is found in the zonule of Zinn, the transparent and elastic suspensory ligament of the lens, which contains no elastin. Application of immunocytochemical staining with a peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) procedure demonstrates that fibronectin is associated with the microfibrils of the zonule and aorta. Aggregates of microfibrils are identical to oxytalan ('acid enduring') fibers that have been described in peridontal membranes and other sites subject to mechanical stress and they can be found in sites as disparate as the rabbit zonule, rat hepatic stroma and human cardiac papillary muscle, indicating that microfibrils are a widely distributed connective tissue element with a function that extends beyond elastogenesis; their association with fibronectin and localization suggests that they serve as an elastic anchoring component of the extracellular matrix.