CURRENT CONCEPTS IN CARTILAGE COLLAGENS A ND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH DISEASE

The main functional role of the collagenous cartilage fibers is to for m a stable network to counteract the hydrodinamic pressure generated b y the highly hydrodynamic proteoglycan aggregates. The main collagen p resent in human cartilage is type It, but other proteins such as types IV, Vt, IX, X, XI and XIV are also found albeit in small quantities. Several transgenic mice have been developed to study the structural ab normalities as they relate to human disease. Similarly, the study of t hese structural abnormalities has renewed the interest regarding their pathogenetic role in some hereditary and acquired diseases of cartila ge in humans. It is hoped that gene therapy will help correct these ab normalities. We review here these topics.