Marfan syndrome: abnormal alpha 2 chain in type I collagen

Cells in culture from a woman with a variety of the Marfan syndrome produce two species of the alpha 2 chains of type I collagen. One alpha 2 chain appears normal; the abnormal chain has a higher apparent molecular weight than normal and migrates more slowly during electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gels. A similar change in electrophoretic behavior is seen in the prepro alpha 2 chain and the pN alpha 2 chain (which contains the amino-terminal extension). Asymmetric cleavage of the pepsin-treated procollagens with a fibroblast collagenase locates the abnormal segment amino terminal to the cleavage site, and analysis of cyanogen bromide peptides of collagenase cleavage peptides and of whole collagens indicates that the abnormal segment is in either the alpha 2CB3 peptide or the short segment of alpha 2CB5 amino terminal to the collagenase site of the altered alpha 2 chain. The higher apparent molecular weight is consistent with the insertion of a small peptide fragment of approximately 20 amino acids. This alteration in chain size has marked effects on crosslinking because collagen from the patient's skin was 5-10 times more extractable in nondenaturing solvents than that from control skins. Although the abnormal chain was not found in several other individuals with the Marfan syndrome, these findings suggest that the phenotype may be the expression of a variety of primary structure alterations in the chains of type I collagen that interfere with normal crosslink formation.