What Connects Rat Tails to Cancer and Heart Disease?
Collagen is the main (and most abundant) protein in all mammalian connective tissues, including those of the heart, lungs, skin, and tendons. It is also the primary protein in bones and teeth. Bodily malfunctions involving this protein can lead to heart disease and cancer. We know a good deal about how collagen is produced in the body, how it regenerates, and about its physiological structure. But because the collagen protein is so large and insoluble, solving its three-dimensional molecular structure has long been regarded as an impossible, but important, problem. Now, innovative synchrotron x-ray research techniques have yielded new information on the molecular structure of collagen. Because this ubiquitous protein is involved in cancer and heart disease, the data obtained in this study may help in the fight against these deadly ailments. By adapting methods commonly used for studying much smaller and simpler proteins, researchers from the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Rosali
