Ultrastructural analysis of skin and aorta from a patient with Menkes disease

Ultrastructural studies of the skin and aorta of a patient with Menkes disease, an X-linked recessive disorder of copper metabolism, are described. Dermal thickness was normal, while dermal collagen fibrils exhibited a heterogeneous size range, with a mean diameter smaller than normal. Long-spacing collagen was often observed near fibroblasts, the plasma membranes of which were decorated by aggregates of interwoven filaments. Dermal elastin fibers were scarce and consisted of thin strands of amorphous elastin associated with numerous microfibrils. In the aorta, the amount of collagen was normal, although the fibrils displayed a broader range of diameters than normal, with a slightly smaller mean. Elastin fibers showed considerable disruption, appearing fragmented and wider than normal, and displaying irregular contours. The inclusion of cationic dyes during tissue fixation gave rise to numerous electron-dense precipitates within the elastin fibers, suggesting the presence there of glycosaminoglycans or proteoglycans, among which unsulfated and sulfated chondroitins were demonstrated by immunoelectron microscopy to be prominent. Heparan sulfate, observed to be a constituent of normal elastin fibers, was much reduced in amount. Elastin was also found associated with glycosaminoglycans in the soluble matrix of the aortic wall.