Cartilage collagen analysis in the chondrodystrophies.

A simple and reproducible method for analyzing small samples of cartilage collagens was developed. Following extraction with guanidine HCl, the cartilage specimens were digested directly with CNBr and the resultant peptides separated by gel-permeation high-performance liquid chromatography. Resting cartilage collagen CNBr peptide maps differed from normal in two inherited chondrodystrophies, achondrogenesis II and spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita.