ABSTRACT
This chapter describes studies of the biochemistry of the collagens of the heart valve and to examine the roles they may play in the normal function of this tissue. Collagen is the most abundant component of the matrix and would appear to be the most important for maintainence of structural integrity and functions of the valves. Bashey and co-workers characterized the collagen types present in bovine heart valves. Collagen types were identified by SDS gel electrophoresis, amino acid analysis, and CNBr-peptide mapping, It was shown that heart valve collagen was heterogeneous consisting of a mixture of type one and type three collagen. Human heart valves have also been used in recent studies in which the biosynthesis of collagen in these normal valves was compared to that of diseased valves. The specific activity of collagen hydroxyproline decreased in the four different types of heart valves with the increasing age of the animals.
