Preparation of subcellular fractions from granulation tissue by density gradient centrifugation

The 7000 g pellet of homogenized mature sponge-induced granulation tissue was fractionated by centrifugation in a stepwise sucrose gradient in order to study the synthesis and secretion of collagen and other components of this tissue on the subcellular level. As indicated by chemical and enzymatic assays, by electron microscopy and by incorporation experiments, the collagen-synthethesizing rough endoplasmic reticulum fraction was isolated free from the secretory vesicles (smooth endoplasmic membranes and Golgi elements) and fibrous extracellular matrix. Collagen differed from other proteins in the distribution among the subcellular fractions. In pulse-chase experiment the translocation of 14C-labelled collagen was demonstrated from the rough endoplasmic reticulum through the secretory vesicles to extracellular fibrillar collagen. This fractionation method will be used to study the modulation of collagen synthesis and secretion in the reparative tissue.