CHICK CARTILAGE COLLAGEN: A NEW TYPE OF α1 CHAIN NOT PRESENT IN BONE OR SKIN OF THE SPECIES

Abstract

Isolation and chromatography of collagen from chick cartilage revealed an excess of alpha1 relative to alpha2-chains. Characterization of the cyanogen bromide peptides from the alpha1 fraction indicated the presence of two homologous forms of alpha1. The results suggest that cartilage contains two collagens, one identical to the collagen of skin and bone, the other clearly different requiring the expression of an additional structural gene and possibly containing only alpha1-chains.