collagen type-8 (endothelial collagen)

Function

• macromolecular component of the subendothelium
• major component of the Descemet's membrane (basement membrane) of corneal endothelium)
• also component of the endothelium of blood vessels
• necessary for migration & proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cellshains

Structure

• homotrimers, or heterotrimers in association with COL8A1
• four homotrimers can form a tetrhedron stabilized by central interacting C-terminal NC1 trimers

Compartment

• secreted, extracellular space
• extracellular matrix, basement membrane

Expression

• expressed primarily in subendothelium of large blood vessels
• also expressed in arterioles & venules in muscle, heart, kidney, spleen, umbilical cord, liver & lung
• also found in connective tissue layers around hair follicles, around nerve bundles in muscle, in the dura of the optic nerve, in cornea & sclera, & in the perichondrium of cartilage
• in the kidney, expressed in mesangial cells, glomerular endothelial cells, & tubular epithelial cells
• also expressed in mast cells, & in astrocytes during the repair process
• expressed in Descemet's membrane

More general terms

• collagen