Collagen

Collagen is the main component of connective tissue and the most abundant protein in the human body. It is mostly found in fibrous tissues such as tendons, ligaments and skin.

Types

 * Type I: skin, tendon, vasculature, organs, bone (main component of the organic part of bone)
 * Type II: cartilage (main collagenous component of cartilage)
 * Type III: reticulate (main component of reticular fibers), commonly found alongside type I.
 * Type IV: forms basal lamina, the epithelium-secreted layer of the basement membrane.
 * Type V: cell surfaces, hair, and placenta

Components
Collagen is made up primarily of glycine and proline.

Co-factors
Vitamin C is a co-factor of many of the chemical reactions involved in collagen production. Vitamin C is also a mast cell stabilizer. Deficiency can result in impaired collagen synthesis and scurvy.

Pathogens
Infection can degrade collagen via direct secretion of collagenases and other enzymes (in the case of bacteria) or increased host production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) as part of the normal immune response (in the case of bacteria and viruses). Numerous bacteria secrete their own collagenases. Borrelia spirochetes upregulate production of human collagenase (MMP-1) and gelatinase B (MMP-9), an enzyme that can degrade both elastin and collagen. MMP-8 and MMP-9 are upregulated in bacterial meningitis and the latter is associated with an increased risk of blood-brain barrier breakdown and neurological sequale such as epilepsy and cognitive impairment. Herpes simplex virus, HHV-6 and Coxsackie B infection result in increased production of MMP-9, which is associated with Type IV and Type V collagen degradation. Coxsackie B has also been associated with increased production of other MMPs.

Infection and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a group connective tissue disorders caused by genetic defects in the production of collagen. Type III, hypermobile EDS (hEDS), is also thought to be genetic but as a genetic marker has not yet been identified; it is diagnosed via signs and symptoms. A 2018 case study of a patient who met the diagnostic criteria for hEDS and had a chronic Bartonella infection found their hEDS symptoms resolved with antibiotic treatment for Bartonella. Mycoplasma pneumoniae has been associated with mitral valve degeneration, a complication of EDS.

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics
“Fluoroquinolones upregulate cell matrix metalloproteinases, resulting in a reduction of collagen fibrils of types I and III collagen.” A longitudinal study found Fluoroquinolones increased the risk of collagen-related adverse events like tendon ruptured and detached retinas. In December 2018, the FDA recommended against its use in patients with connective tissue disorders like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Marfan Syndrome. Doxycycline, by contrast, inhibits MMP production.

Mold
Stachybotrys chartarum (black mold) release proteinases that can hydrolyze gelatin and collagen I and IV. Three mycotoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV) and T-2 toxin, were study in an the context of an experimental cartilage model. They were found to increase the expression of MMPs and result in the loss of aggrecan and type II collagen. Selenium partially inhibited the effects of these mycotoxins.

Sex hormones
Several animal studies of collagen in muscle and the aorta have found that estrogen decreases and testosterone collagen and elastin. A study of collagen in male cows found that collagen synthesis increased with puberty, possibly as a result of testosterone. Another, that intramuscular collagen was higher in bulls than in steers (castrated cattle). An in vitro study of rat cartilage cells found that testosterone stimulated collagen synthesis, but only in male cells.

ME/CFS
Preliminary data from the UK ME/CFS biobank show an association between increased risk of ME/CFS and a gene variant that encodes for a subunit of prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit alpha 1 (P4HA1), which encodes for procollagen-proline dioxygenase, an enzyme involved in the production of collagen that also plays a role in the regulation of energy metabolism via downregulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase. The data are based on self-reported diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome and involve a sample size that is very small for genome-wide association studies (n=1829), making confidence intervals difficult to estimate.

Elevated levels of hydroxyproline, a marker of collagen breakdown, was found by Wenzhong Xiao in the Severely Ill Patient Study. Robert Naviaux’s work has suggested it as a possible biomarker for female ME/CFS patients. Maureen Hanson failed to find elevated hydroxyproline in her metabolomics study.

As a supplement
When hydrolyzed, collagen is reduced to small peptides, which can be ingested in the form of dietary supplement or functional foods and beverages with the intent to aid joint and bone health and enhance skin health. These hydroxyproline-containing peptides are transported into the target tissues (e.g., skin, bones, and cartilage), where they act as building blocks for local cells and help boost the production of new collagen fibers.