Using Texture tomography to understand the co-organization of mineral and collagen in the enthesis

The enthesis is the insertion site of tendon into bone and it plays a major role in biomechanics of load transfer in our bodies. It has a complicated, hierarchical structure and a graduation of the collagen, mineral properties and orientations. The organization and function of these gradients are still not fully understood. This is due to the complex, 3D organization of the mineralized tissue which is difficult to study in 3D. To this end, we are currently developing Texture tomography to study the crystallographic texture in 3D. With this technique, we will understand the crystalline texture of the mineral in mouse achilles tendon enthesis (ATE) and compare it to the organization of the collagen fibrils on the nanoscale measured by SAXS tensor tomography. By studying the ATE in three states (healthy, unloaded, reloaded) the impact of loading on the nanostructural organization can be probed to eventually use the biomechanical knowledge for an improved treatment of enthesis injuries.