Collagen, formation synthesis

Zinc normally aids wound healing in terrestrial invertebrates. Wounding of the optic tentacle, foot tissue, and partial shell removal in Helix aspersa, a terrestrial gastropod, resulted in deposition of zinc in the wound area after 2 to 5 days. Increased zinc in Helix wound areas may be necessary to promote protein synthesis, collagen formation, and mitotic cell division (Ireland 1986). 

Mechanism of Action Assists in collagen formation and tissue repair and is involved in oxidation reduction reactions and other metabolicreactions.TAerapeMficEffect Involved in carbohydrate use and metabolism, as well as synthesis of carnitine, lipids, and proteins. Preserves blood vessel integrity. 

Physiological Function. The mechanism by which L-ascorbic acid benefits an insect is unknown. The vitamin is found in many tissues where it probably plays a variety of roles related to its redox potential. Besides the possible general function of detoxifying superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, L-ascorbic acid may be involved in metabolic processes such as tyrosine metabolism, collagen formation, steroid synthesis, detoxification reactions, phagostimulation, or neuromodulation. At this time one can only speculate about the function of vitamin C in some specific tissues. 

A requirement for ascorbic acid in collagen formation has been well documented. This, it has been suggested, results from a utilization of this vitamin in the formation of hydroxjrproline from bound proline in a precollagen peptide (137,138) or for formation of an activated hydroxyproline (139). Mitoma and Smith (140) showed, however, that while ascorbic acid deficiency impaired collagen synthesis hydroxylation of proline was not affected. 

M.p. 190-192 C. The enolic form of 3-oxo-L-gulofuranolactone. It can be prepared by synthesis from glucose, or extracted from plant sources such as rose hips, blackcurrants or citrus fruits. Easily oxidized. It is essential for the formation of collagen and intercellular material, bone and teeth, and for the healing of wounds. It is used in the treatment of scurvy. Man is one of the few mammals unable to manufacture ascorbic acid in his liver. Used as a photographic developing agent in alkaline solution. 

Bone Formation The building of new bone through osteoblasts. Bone formation, which is part of the bone remodelling process, includes the synthesis of organic matter (mostly collagen type 1) and subsequent mineralisation. 

It is well known that native collagen containes tripeptide sequences, which alone are not capable of building up a triple helix (e.g. Gly-Pro-Leu, Gly-Pro-Ser) when they exist as homopolypeptides. The synthesis of threefold covalently bridged peptide chains opens up the possibility of investigating the folding properties of such weak helix formers, because the bridging reduces the entropy loss during triple-helix formation and thereby increases the thermodynamic stability of the tertiary structure. Therefore, we have... 

A number of iron-containing, ascorbate-requiring hydroxylases share a common reaction mechanism in which hydroxylation of the substrate is linked to decarboxylation of a-ketoglutarate (Figure 28-11). Many of these enzymes are involved in the modification of precursor proteins. Proline and lysine hydroxylases are required for the postsynthetic modification of procollagen to collagen, and prohne hydroxylase is also required in formation of osteocalcin and the Clq component of complement. Aspartate P-hydroxylase is required for the postsynthetic modification of the precursor of protein C, the vitamin K-dependent protease which hydrolyzes activated factor V in the blood clotting cascade. TrimethyUysine and y-butyrobetaine hydroxylases are required for the synthesis of carnitine. 

Polvere, R.I., Kabbash, C.A., Capo, V.A., Kadan, I. and Despommier, D.D. (1997) Trichinella spiralis synthesis of type IV and type VI collagen during nurse cell formation. Experimental Parasitology 86, 191-199. 

Co-expression of the human a- and p-subunits in the yeast Pichea pastoralis produces only trace amounts of active tetramer, with the majority being present in an unassembled form. Co-expression with human type III collagens, however, increases this assembly level tenfold. This indicates that collagen synthesis and the formation of an active prolyl 4-hydroxylase complex are mutually dependent processes (Vuorela et al, 1997). A similar observation has been noted for baculovirus encoded enzymes in insect cells (Lamberg et al, 1996). These findings support the hypothesis that this unusual control mechanism may be a common feature of collagen synthesis in all cell types. 

The principal cells in bone are the osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Osteoclasts, the cells responsible for resorption of bone, are derived from hematopoietic stem cells. Osteoblasts are derived from local mesenchymal cells. They are the pivotal bone cell, responsible for bone formation. Skeletal tissues are remodelled throughout a lifetime, alternating resorption phases by osteoclasts with periods of intense collagen synthesis. This balance is under the control of mechanical and hormonal stimuli, which ensure the appropriate performance of the bone. Skeletal tissues have three... 

Pharmacology Vitamin C, a water-soluble vitamin, is an essential vitamin in man however, its exact biological functions are not fully understood. It is essential for the formation and the maintenance of intercellular ground substance and collagen, for catecholamine biosynthesis, for synthesis of carnitine and steroids, for conversion of folic acid to folinic acid and for tyrosine metabolism. 

Ascorbic acid or vitamin C is found in fruits, especially citrus fruits, and in fresh vegetables. Man is one of the few mammals unable to manufacture vitamin C in the liver. It is essential for the formation of collagen as it is a cofactor for the conversion of proline and lysine residues to hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine. It is also a cofactor for carnitine synthesis, for the conversion of folic acid to folinic acid and for the hydroxylation of dopamine to form norepinephrine. Being a lactone with two hydroxyl groups which can be oxidized to two keto groups forming dehydroascorbic acid, ascorbic acid is also an anti-oxidant. By reducing ferric iron to the ferrous state in the stomach, ascorbic acid promotes iron absorption. 

Fig. 12. The kinetics of contraction of full-thickness guinea pig skin wounds separate collagen-GAG matrices into three classes. The wound half-life t,/2 is the number of days necessary to reduce the original wound area to 50%. An inactive matrix does not delay wound contraction significantly relative to the ungrafted control and eventually allows formation of a linear scar. An active, cell-free matrix delays wound contraction by about 20 days but eventually allows lull contraction to occur. An active matrix, which has been seeded with a minimal number of skin cells, delays contraction significantly, later arrests it, and eventually induces synthesis of a new dermis and epidermis within an expanding wound perimeter...

---