Scaling protein production seems like a simple perturbation of transcriptional control. However, when embryonic tendon fibroblasts have to produce >50% procollagen and secrete it from the cell 4 times faster than the average protein, this taxes the cellular machinery and requires a fresh look at how the pathway is controlled. Ascorbate, a reducing agent, can stimulate procollagen production 6-fold. Procollagen mRNA levels goes up 6-fold but requires 3 days for the cell to accomplish this task. Secretion rates, the last cellular step in the process, also goes up 6-fold but this occurs in <1 h. What regulatory scheme is consistent with these properties?
This review focuses on fibroblasts that make high levels of procollagen (type I) and how they regulate the collagen pathway. Data from many different labs are relevant to this problem but it is hard to see the bigger picture from a large number of small studies. This review aims to consolidate this data into a coherent model and this requires solutions to some controversies and postulating potential mechanisms where the details are still missing.
Restricted to single copy genes, procollagen mRNA induction requires 3 days.
Embryonic chick tendon cells use post-transcriptional, feedback control.
Procollagen conformation allows feedback between secretion and translation rates.
Prolyl 4-hydroxylase using its enzymatic and chaperone roles links these steps.
Cell density controls enzyme activity and cell growth driving growth plate formation.