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Collagen polymorphism in pathologic human scars

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Summary

The collagen type composition of normal and pathologic scars was examined in comparison with normal skin from the same individual. Particular care was taken to separate scar tissue from adjacent normal dermis. After urea extraction, the tissue specimens were cleaved with cyanogen bromide. The presence of the dermal collagen types I and III was deduced from the electrophoretic distribution patterns of the CNBr peptides in 12% SDS-polyacrylamide gels. The intensity of the type III specific peptide bands correlates with the type III content of the samples. Using this method, the presence of both type I and type III collagen can be proved in normal as well as pathologic scars. The type III content in older normal scars is slightly increased, whereas the type III content of pathologic scars is significantly increased in comparison with the type III content of normal skin. The electrophoretic CNBr peptide distribution pattern of pathologic scar tissue is almost the same as that of fetal skin. Both are clearly different from the peptide pattern of normal adult skin.

Zusammenfassung

Die Kollagentypzusammensetzung normaler und pathologischer Narben wird im Vergleich zur unveränderten Haut des gleichen Individuums untersucht. Nach histologisch kontrollierter Präparation werden die Gewebeproben mit Bromcyan abgebaut. Die elektrophoretischen Verteilungsmuster der BrCN-Peptide in 12%igen SDS-Polyacrylamidgelen erlauben den Rückschluß auf das Vorhandensein von Typ I und Typ III Kollagen. Die Intensität der Typ III spezifischen Peptidbanden korreliert mit dem Typ III-Gehalt der Proben. Mit dieser Methode kann in normalen und pathologischen Narben sowohl Typ I als auch Typ III Kollagen nachgewiesen werden. Der Typ III-Gehalt älterer normaler Narben ist gering erhöht, der Typ III-Gehalt pathologischer Narben ist deutlich erhöht im Vergleich zum Typ III-Gehalt der Normalhaut. Pathologisches Narbengewebe zeigt in der SDS-Diskelektrophorese ein entsprechendes Peptidverteilungsmuster wie Fötalhaut. Beide unterscheiden sich deutlich vom Peptidmuster der normalen Erwachsenenhaut.

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Weber, L., Meigel, W.N. & Spier, W. Collagen polymorphism in pathologic human scars. Arch Dermatol Res 261, 63–71 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00455376

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