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Synthesis and Assembly of Recombinant Collagen

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Fibrous Proteins

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2347))

Abstract

Collagen represents the major structural protein of the extracellular matrix. The desired mechanical and biological performances of collagen that have led to its broad applications as a building block in a great deal of fields, such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, and nanodevices. The most direct way to obtain collagen is to separate and extract it from biological tissues, but these top-down methods are usually cumbersome, and the structure of collagen is usually destroyed during the preparation process. Moreover, there is currently no effective method to separate some scarce collagens (such as collagen from human beings). Alternatively, bottom-up assembly methods have been developed to obtain collagen assembly or their analogs. The collagen used in this type of method is usually obtained by genetic recombination. A distinct advantage of gene recombination is that the sequence structure of collagen can be directly customized, so its assembly mode can be regulated at the primary structure level, and then a collagen assembly with a predesigned configuration can be achieved. Additionally, insights into the assembly behavior of these specific structures provide a rational approach to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of collagen-associated diseases, such as diabetes. In this chapter, Type I collagen is used as an example to introduce the key methods and procedures of collagen recombination, and on this basis, we will introduce in detail the experimental protocols for further assembly of these recombinant proteins to specific structures, such as fibril.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers. 51973116, U1832109, 21935002], the Users with Excellence Program of Hefei Science Center CAS [grant number 2019HSC-UE003], the starting grant of ShanghaiTech University, and State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China

    Chenxi Zhao, Shengjie Ling & Jing Ren

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China

    Yuelong Xiao & Ying Pei

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  1. Chenxi Zhao
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  2. Yuelong Xiao
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  3. Shengjie Ling
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  4. Ying Pei
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  5. Jing Ren
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jing Ren .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China

    Shengjie Ling

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Zhao, C., Xiao, Y., Ling, S., Pei, Y., Ren, J. (2021). Synthesis and Assembly of Recombinant Collagen. In: Ling, S. (eds) Fibrous Proteins. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2347. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1574-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1574-4_8

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1573-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1574-4

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