Isolation and native characterization of cysteine-rich collagens from bovine placental tissues and uterus and their relationship to types IV and V collagens.

A simplified procedure for the fractionation and purification of different collagen types from various tissues is described which is particularly efficient in separating type-V from type-IV collagen, and high-mol.-wt. (HMW) aggregates from 7 S collagen. Uterus and maternal villi contain 2 forms of type-V collagen - [alpha 1(V)]2 alpha 2(V) and [alpha 1(V) alpha 2(V) alpha 3(V) - which have been separated on DEAE-cellulose. Uterus however appears to be the richest source of both HMW aggregates and the [alpha 1(V) alpha 2(V) alpha 3(V)] collagen, and a probable relationship between these collagens is discussed.