title: Analysis of human collagen sequences.
abstract: The extracellular matrix is fast emerging as important component mediating cell-cell interactions, along with its established role as a scaffold for cell support. Collagen, being the principal component of extracellular matrix, has been implicated in a number of pathological conditions. However, collagens are complex protein structures belonging to a large family consisting of 28 members in humans; hence, there exists a lack of in depth information about their structural features. Annotating and appreciating the functions of these proteins is possible with the help of the numerous biocomputational tools that are currently available. This study reports a comparative analysis and characterization of the alpha-1 chain of human collagen sequences. Physico-chemical, secondary structural, functional and phylogenetic classification was carried out, based on which, collagens 12, 14 and 20, which belong to the FACIT collagen family, have been identified as potential players in diseased conditions, owing to certain atypical properties such as very high aliphatic index, low percentage of glycine and proline residues and their proximity in evolutionary history. These collagen molecules might be important candidates to be investigated further for their role in skeletal disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, A-10, Sector-62, NOIDA, 201307, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Manisha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nassa
authors.forename: Pracheta
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.forename: Aditi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Aastha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chhabra
authors.forename: Astha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jaiswal
authors.forename: Umang
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Malhotra
authors.forename: Vibha
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rani