New research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), based in Bethesda, Maryland, shows that collagen is more active in the human body than originally thought and has an affect on the way enzymes are broken down.
In the study, published online July 12 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Keir Neuman, PhD, lead author on the study and a senior investigator in the Laboratory of Single Molecule Biophysics at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), found that the protein, which is the most abundant in humans, forms structures that regulate how certain enzymes break down and remodel body tissue. Collagen performs an important role in a variety of biological processes ranging from wound healing to cancer growth.
The findings shed light on collagen’s potential affect on heart disease, cancer, arthritis and other diseases and how it can be used for regulating tissue remodeling.
Senior Writer
As a Senior Writer for TriMed Media Group, Katherine primarily focuses on producing news stories, Q&As and features for Cardiovascular Business. She reports on several facets of the cardiology industry, including emerging technology, new clinical trials and findings, and quality initiatives among providers. She is based out of TriMed's Chicago office and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Columbia College Chicago. Her work has appeared in Modern Healthcare, Crain's Chicago Business and The Detroit News. She joined TriMed in 2016.