Mengjie Zhu, Fabian Metzen, Mark Hopkinson, Janina Betz, Juliane Heilig, Jassi Sodhi, Thomas Imhof, Anja Niehoff, David E Birk, Yayoi Izu, Marcus Krüger, Andrew A Pitsillides, Janine Altmüller, Gerjo J V M van Osch, Volker Straub, Gudrun Schreiber, Mats Paulsson, Manuel Koch, Bent Brachvogel
Collagen XII, belonging to the fibril-associated collagens, is a homotrimeric secreted extracellular matrix (ECM) protein encoded by the COL12A1 gene. Mutations in the human COL12A1 gene cause an Ehlers-Danlos/myopathy overlap syndrome leading to skeletal abnormalities and muscle weakness. Here, we studied the role of collagen XII in joint pathophysiology by analyzing collagen XII deficient mice and human patients. We found that collagen XII is widely expressed across multiple connective tissue of the developing joint...
July 21, 2023: IScience