Lysyl hydroxylation in collagens from hyperplastic callus and embryonic bones

Tissue from two patients with osteogenesis imperfecta suffering from a hyperplastic callus was studied. Although collagen type I from the compact bone and the skin and fibroblast cultures of these patients showed normal lysyl hydroxylation, collagen types I, II, III and V from the callus tissue were markedly overhydroxylated. Furthermore, the overhydroxylation of lysine residues covered almost equally the entire alpha 1 (I) collagen chain, as demonstrated by the analysis of individual CNBr-derived peptides. In addition, collagen type I was isolated from femoral compact bone of 33 individuals who died between the 16th week of gestational age and 22 years. Lysyl hydroxylation rapidly decreased in both collagen alpha 1 (I) and alpha 2 (I) chains during fetal development, and only little in the postnatal period. The transient increase in lysyl hydroxylation and the involvement of various collagen types in callus tissue argue for a regulatory mechanism that may operate in bone repair and during fetal development.