Are the changes in collagen caused by chronical X-irradiation similar to aging?

It has been shown that in the skin of chronically irradiated rats the proportion of collagen type III as compared to collagen type I is increased; on the other hand, no changes in the overall proportion to collagen were observed in the skin. It appears that the increased proportion of collagen type III in chronically irradiated rats is responsible for the decreased solubility of cutaneous collagen in these animals. Concomitantly, indirect evidence was accumulated for the presence of an additional cross-link in type III collagen, present only when irradiated animals served as the collagen source. This cross-link is located subterminally as long as it is not removed by limited pepsin digestion. It was concluded that the physiological decrease in solubility and the decrease in solubility observed in chronically irradiated animals have a different molecular background.