[Collagen in current connective tissue research. Application of molecular biological methods to medical problems].

Collagen plays an important role in connective tissue diseases. It is the most abundant protein of the human body and serves as a model protein in the study of a variety of diseases. At present, at least ten different genetically distinct collagen types are known and characterized to at least some extent. In patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Marfan syndrome and osteogenesis imperfecta, molecular defects in the type I collagen genes are already known. It is very likely that in the near future vast amounts of data about the collagens, collagen defects and their involvement in human pathophysiology will become available.