Collagen, Type II, from bovine snout membrane

Type II Collagen (CAS No. 9007-34-5) is mainly used in cell culture for functional studies of cartilage-related cells and immune cells, with a primary focus on chondrocyte and immune cell function research. As a chondrocyte culture matrix, it can mimic the in vivo microenvironment, regulate cell proliferation and matrix synthesis, and inhibit inflammatory responses; when co-cultured with lymph node cells at a concentration of 50 μg/mL, it can be used to evaluate T-cell proliferation and IFN-γ secretion for studies on the immunological mechanisms of arthritis, and the T-cell response is specific and unrelated to pepsin contamination.

Type II Collagen is also commonly used to induce arthritis-related disease models, triggering autoimmune responses through active immunization or mimicking the pathological state of cartilage injury. It is mainly used to induce the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model: C57BL/6 mice require subcutaneous injection of 200 μg/mouse chicken-derived collagen mixed with complete Freund’s adjuvant, with an incidence rate of 61.7% and a more chronic course; DBA/1 mice are sensitive to bovine-, chicken-, and mouse-derived collagen, with an incidence rate of 94%–96% after immunization with 200 μg/mouse and an acute disease onset. In addition, it can assist in establishing models such as partial meniscal avulsion and sodium iodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis, to mimic the pathological state of cartilage degradation and joint inflammation.

In addition, Type II Collagen can also be used for treatment in diseased model animals and clinical patients by inducing immune tolerance, suppressing inflammatory responses, and protecting the cartilage matrix. Administration is mainly oral, with reference doses of 1-10 mg/kg/d in rats, 1-10 mg/d in dogs, and 80-160 mg/d in horses; some can be administered via intra-articular injection. Key effects include alleviating joint swelling and pain, reducing cartilage damage and matrix metalloproteinase expression, lowering levels of degradation markers such as CTX-II, activating regulatory T cells, inhibiting pro-inflammatory signaling pathways, and it can also be used to evaluate the efficacy of anti-arthritis drugs.

Clinically, undenatured type II collagen preparations (e.g., UC-II) are commonly used, with an adult oral dose of 5-40 mg/d for continuous treatment over 12-180 days. It can significantly improve joint stiffness, pain, and motor function in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, reduce WOMAC and pain VAS scores, show better efficacy than the combination of glucosamine + chondroitin sulfate, and has good safety with no obvious adverse effects on the liver or kidneys.

References:

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