Exposing collagen's double life
Collagen, a type of connective tissue that makes up about 30 percent of the human body, plays many roles. The structural protein is an important component of muscle, skin, bones and cartilage, and forms scar tissue when injuries heal.However, it’s one of collagen’s lesser-known functions that piqued the interest of MIT associate professor Collin Stultz, a cardiologist and biomedical engineer, several years ago. When cholesterol builds up in the arteries, giving rise to plaques, collagen forms a protective layer that envelops the plaques. If collagen fails to hold the plaques together, they burst, spilling out cholesterol, other fatty molecules, and blood-clotting agents — usually with disastrous consequences. “Catastrophic heart attacks — the kind where you’re walking down the street, or watching TV, and then keel over and die — are most often associated with a rupture of the collagen layer,” says Stultz, the W.M. Keck Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering.Understanding...