Collagen melt-down

Collagen is the most abundant mammalian protein and is a critical component of the extracellular matrix. But a new study reveals that collagen is unstable at body temperature.For decades, it has been thought that the helices of collagen have a melting temperature just a few degrees above body temperature. Now, however, Sergey Leikin (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD) and colleagues have used modern calorimetry techniques to show that the equilibrium melting temperature (T_m) of type I collagen is lower than previously thought— several degrees lower than body temperature, in fact.

“Our results are consistent with all of the previous data,” Dr. Leikin points out, “except we have expanded the range of measurements” by increasing the equilibration time by several orders of magnitude. By measuring collagen denaturation at a much slower heating rate,...