Normal and Depleted Cartilage (IMAGE) Cell Press Caption These are images of (a) normal human joint cartilage, and (e) cartilage with very early matrix GAG loss. (b) Histologic image of a normal cartilage stained with Toluidine Blue to visualize content of GAGs. (f) Histologic image of a GAG-depleted cartilage (c) Schematic of extracellular matrix of normal cartilage composed mainly of collagen fibers and aggrecan (g) Schematic of matrix of GAG-depleted cartilage (d,h) Schematic of AFM-based dynamic compression of normal (d) and GAG-depleted (h) cartilage, which results in intra-tissue fluid flow velocity depicted by the blue arrows (from Finite element model computer simulations): loss of GAG (h) enables more fluid to flow out of the cartilage at high loading rates. (i) Human aggrecan imaged by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) Credit <i>Biophysical Journal</i>, Nia et al. Usage Restrictions Credit required License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.