mgr Dominika Kuczyńska-Schulz, Dip. Sports Nutr.
Key words: recombinant human collagen, collagen, hydroxyproline, collagen a1 chain, transgenic organisms
Abstract
Collagen is the main structural protein of the human body. Its unique structure and properties as well as the importance in tissue regeneration make it widely used in biotechnology, tissue engineering, pharmacology and regenerative medicine, and due to the significant loss of collagen observed in the aging processes of the skin, also in aesthetic medicine procedures. Commercial collagen is obtained from animal tissues, which may carry the risk of transmission of pathogens. Other problems include the lack of full biocompatibility with human collagen proteins and the risk of inducing an immune response. In search of completely safe collagen, attempts were made to obtain human collagen, initially with the use of transgenic cell lines, and then with the use of transgenic plants, bacteria, yeast and insects.
The development of technology for the production of recombinant human collagen, which has taken place in the past decades, has finally allowed the commencement of commercial production of biomedical products, based on platforms using plant systems, using yeast or insects. Recombinant collagen is a safe alternative to widely used products derived from animal tissues. However, due to the many difficulties associated with obtaining the desired activity of the enzymes determining the posttranslational modification of the synthesized collagen proteins, these technologies require further development in order to optimize costs and efficiency.
