Collagen is a protein molecule made up of amino acids and is the most abundant protein in the human body. It plays an essential role in the structure and function of skin, cartilage, bone, connective tissue, organs, blood vessels, and intestinal lining. Vitamin C plays a vital role in the formation of collagen. It provides structural support to the extracellular space of connective tissues due to its stiffness and stretch resistance, making it the perfect matrix for skin, tendons, bones, and ligaments.
Collagen represents about 30% of your total protein. The word 'collagen' comes from a Greek root, kolla, which means glue. It is the main structural protein found in skin and other connective tissues and is widely used in purified form for cosmetic surgical treatments. Most collagen is found in the connective tissue between bones, and its loss can cause joint pain. Some people believe that taking collagen supplements (made from animal tissues and bones) can improve their health and reduce this pain. Mutations in genes affect extracellular peptide cleavage and alter collagen fibril cross-linking and aggregation, resulting in altered fiber stability and functionality.
Ligand binding sites, functional domains, and mutations have been mapped to collagen I fibril, which appears to be composed of cell-interacting domains and matrix-interacting domains (Sweeney et al.). Fillers that combine collagen dermal fillers with hyaluronic acid can increase skin elasticity by increasing collagen production. Collagen α chains range in size from 662 to 3152 amino acids for human α1 (X) and α3 (VI) chains, respectively (Ricard-Blum et al.). Glucosepane, the most abundant crosslink in senescent skin collagen, is capable of crosslinking one in five collagen molecules in the skin of the elderly (Sjöberg and Bulterijs 200). LAIR-1 ligands are fibrillar collagens I, II and III, and membrane collagens XIII, XVII and XXIII.
Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, the most common cause of lung transplant failure, is associated with a strong cellular immune response to collagen V (Burlingham et al.).Supramolecular assemblies of various collagens are able to interact as shown for anchor fibrils that are firmly attached to striated collagen fibrils (Villone et al.). The bond strength between collagen and other proteins can be calculated by atomic microscopy, and these measurements, in addition to kinetic, affinity and thermodynamic data, could be used to rank the interactions involved in biological processes. Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) affects 1 in 15,000 people, and the diagnosis is made clinically and can be confirmed by DNA or collagen tests. To improve skin collagen damage, it's important not to smoke or be exposed to secondhand smoke as well as using sunscreen every day.
