[Collagen biosynthesis as an example for the regulation of gene expression in mesenchymal cells (author's transl)].

The polymorphism of collagen was the initial observation which stimulated the interest in the regulation of the gene expression of this eucaryotic protein. In the first set of experiments it was shown that a fibroblast from fetal skin possesses the capability to synthesize both type I and type III collagen at the same time. In a second line of investigations, evidence was obtained that in the course of the degenerative osteoarthrosis chondrocytes switch from synthesis of type II collagen to synthesis of type I collagen. A similar observation was made when enzymatically isolated chondrocytes from the sterna of embryonic chicken were grown under tissue culture conditions. This change in synthesis probably reflects a change in gene regulation which might be caused by an as yet unknown disturbance in the cell matrix interaction.