Collagen in Health and Disease

The collagens are a family of extracellular matrix proteins that play a dominant role in maintaining the structural integrity of various organs and tissues and have a number of other important biological functions. Their clinical roles have been clearly illustrated by the very wide spectrum of clinical manifestations found in with the more than thousand mutations that have thus far been characterized in 22 genes for 12 out of the more than 20 types of collagen. Collagen fibres form the basis for many structural component of the body. Hence knowledge of the structure, composition, biosynthesis and types of collagen fibres is essential. As collagen forms building block of body structures, any defect in collagen results in diseases such as Ehler Danlos syndrome, Scurvy, Alport syndrome, OSMF, Epidermolysis Bullosa, etc. This book discusses about the role of collagen in health and disease.