Recent progress on collagen triple helix structure, stability and assembly

Collagen is the major structural protein in skin, bone, tendon, cartilage
and blood vessels. Its triple helical structure has been long studied by
fibre diffraction. More recently, single crystal X-ray diffraction on
collagen-like polypeptide models has allowed a significantly improved
description of the triple helix and it has shed light on the relationships
between triple helix features and stability. This review outlines the
current knowledge regarding collagen triple helix structure, stability, and
assembly, with a particular emphasis on the latest structural results.