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Types of collagen
How many types of collagen are there? In which tissues is each type most commonly found?
The collagens are the most abundant body proteins accounting for 20% to 30% of the total body mass. There are at least 29 different types of collagen; however, 90% collagen in the human body is type I. The most common ones are listed in the below table and can be divided into seven subclasses. The unique properties and organization of each collagen type enable that specific collagen to contribute to the function of the tissue of which it is the principal structural component. Abnormalities of collagen types can cause diseases.
Collagen Types, Tissue Distribution, and Diseases Caused by Mutations
| Classes | Tissue Distribution | Disease |
|---|---|---|
| Fibril-forming (interstitial) collagens | ||
| Type I | Bone, tendon, skin, joint capsule/synovium | OI, ED |
| Type II | Hyaline cartilage, disk, vitreous humor | CD, Stickler’s |
| Type III | Blood vessels, skin, lung | ED (vascular), Dupuytren’s |
| Type V | Same as type I | ED (classical) |
| Type XI | Same as type II | SED, Stickler’s |
| Network-forming and short chain collagens | ||
| Type IV a | Basement membrane | Alport syndrome |
| Type VIII | Endothelium, Descemet’s membrane | Corneal dystrophy |
| Type X | Growth plate cartilage | MD |
| FACIT (fibril-associated collagens with interrupted triple helices) | ||
| Type IX | Same as type II, cornea | MED |
| Type XII | Same as type I | |
| Type XIV | Same as type I | |
| Type XVI | Several tissues with types I/II | |
| Type XIX | Rhabdomyosarcoma cells | |
| Type XXI | Blood vessels | |
| Beaded filament-forming collagen | ||
| Type VI | Most connective tissues | Rare muscle diseases |
| Collagen of anchoring fibrils | ||
| Type VII | Dermoepidermal, cornea, oral mucosa | Epidermolysis bullosa dystrophica |
| MACIT (membrane-associated collagens with interrupted triple helices) | ||
| Type XIII | Endomysium, placenta, meninges | |
| Type XVII a | Skin, hemidesmosomes, cornea | |
| Multiplexin (Multiple triple helix domains with interruptions) | ||
| Type XV | Many tissues, especially muscle | |
| Type XVIII | Many tissues Source of endostatin | Knobloch syndrome |
CD, Chondrodysplasia; ED, Ehlers–Danlos syndrome; MD, metaphyseal dysplasia; MED, multiple epiphyseal dysplasia; OI, osteogenesis imperfecta; SED, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia.
a Goodpasture syndrome results from an autoimmune response against collagen type IV; bullous pemphigoid results from an autoimmune response against collagen type XVII.
