Collagenases

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Abstract
"... native collagen is unaffected by enzymes of mammalian origin acting within the pH range that exists in connective tissue..."1 THIS comment, written in 1959 in a review of the structure and stability of collagen, was an accurate assessment of the biomedical literature at that time. However, multiple biologic and pathologic situations — ranging from remodeling of long bones during growth,2 resorption of the uterus after parturition3 , 4 to the rapid development of trophic ulcers of the skin in paralyzed patients5 and destruction of joints in rheumatoid arthritis6 — suggested that there were indeed enzymatic mechanisms for destruction of collagen.Then, . . .