Collagens: molecular biology, diseases, and potentials for therapy

The collagen superfamily of proteins now contains at least 19 proteins formally defined as collagens and an additional ten proteins that have collagen-like domains. The most abundant collagens form extracellular fibrils or network-like structures, but the others fulfill a variety of biological functions. Some of the eight highly specific post-translational enzymes involved in collagen biosynthesis have recently been cloned. Over 400 mutations in 6 different collagens cause a variety of human diseases that include osteogenesis imperfecta, chondrodysplasias, some forms of osteoporosis, some forms of osteoarthritis, and the renal disease known as the Alport syndrome. Many of the disease phenotypes have been produced in transgenic mice with mutated collagen genes. There has been increasing interest in the possibility that the unique post-translational enzymes involved in collagen biosynthesis offer attractive targets for specifically inhibiting excessive fibrotic reactions in a number of diseases. A number of experiments suggest it may be possible to inhibit collagen synthesis with oligo-nucleotides or antisense genes.