Effect of cis-4-hydroxy-L-proline on lung mechanics and collagen content of bleomycin-treated hamsters.

Recent advances in understanding collagen biosynthesis have prompted attempts to develop agents which specifically inhibit collagen formation. One class of agent is proline analogues or compounds structurally similar to proline. The rationale for their use is that collagen is relatively rich in the amino acids proline and hydroxyproline and the incorporation of analogues into sites normally occupied by proline and hydroxyproline in nascent collagen polypeptide chains prevents folding of the peptides into the native triple-helical conformation. 1 Uitto J Prockop DJ Inhibition of collagen accumulation by proline analogues: the mechanism of their action. Collagen metabolism in the liver. Popper H, Becker K, eds) New York: Stratton Intercontinental Medical Book Corp. 1975; : 139-148 Google Scholar Proteins which are prevented from folding are degraded and for this reason the rate at which collagen is deposited in the extracellular matrix is decreased. 1 Uitto J Prockop DJ Inhibition of collagen accumulation by proline analogues: the mechanism of their action. Collagen metabolism in the liver. Popper H, Becker K, eds) New York: Stratton Intercontinental Medical Book Corp. 1975; : 139-148 Google Scholar Administration of non-toxic concentrations of proline analogues reduces the amount of collagen deposited in tissue in several animal models. 1 Uitto J Prockop DJ Inhibition of collagen accumulation by proline analogues: the mechanism of their action. Collagen metabolism in the liver. Popper H, Becker K, eds) New York: Stratton Intercontinental Medical Book Corp. 1975; : 139-148 Google Scholar The purpose of the present experiment is to determine whether administration of one of these proline analogues, cis-4hydroxy-L-proline (cis-hypro), can prevent pulmonary fibrosis in the bleomycin-treated hamster.