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Collagen

Collagen is an example of a fibrous protein. Roughly 30% of the protein in your body is collagen. It is found in ligaments, tendons, muscle, cartilage, bone, and skin.

Fibrous proteins

Fibrous proteins

  • Fibrous proteins are long and narrow.
  • Unlike globular proteins, they are insoluble in water.
  • The roles of fibrous proteins are to offer structural support to cells.
Collagen

Collagen

  • Individual molecules of collagen are formed by three polypeptide chains wound around each other.
  • The chains wind to form a right-handed helix.
  • Individual molecules of collagen are cross-linked together to form long collagen fibers.
  • Each fibre of collagen contains thousand of individual collagen molecules.
Glycine

Glycine

  • Every third amino acid in collagen is glycine.
  • The -R group of glycine is just an H atom.
  • This makes glycine amino acids very small.
  • This allows collagen molecules to pack closely together, increasing the strength of the collagen fibres.
    • This is important for collagen's role in providing structural support.
Jump to other topics
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