Highly abundant in mammals, collagens define the organization of tissues and participate in cell signalling. Most of the 28 vertebrate collagens, with the exception of collagens VI, VII, XXVI and XXVIII, can be categorized into five subgroups: fibrillar collagens, network-forming collagens, fibril-associated collagens with interrupted triple helices, membrane-associated collagens with interrupted triple helices and multiple triple-helix domains with interruptions. Collagen peptides are synthesized from the ribosome and enter the rough endoplasmic reticulum, where they undergo numerous post-translational modifications. The collagen chains form triple helices that can be secreted to form a diverse array of supramolecular structures in the extracellular matrix. Collagens are ubiquitously expressed and have been linked to a broad spectrum of disorders, including genetic disorders with kidney phenotypes. They also have an important role in kidney fibrosis and mass spectrometry-based proteomic studies have improved understanding of the composition of fibrosis in kidney disease. A wide range of therapeutics are in development for collagen and kidney disorders, including genetic approaches, chaperone therapies, protein degradation strategies and anti-fibrotic therapies. Improved understanding of collagens and their role in disease is needed to facilitate the development of more specific treatments for collagen and kidney disorders.

胶原蛋白在哺乳动物中含量丰富，定义组织的组织并参与细胞信号传导。28 种脊椎动物胶原蛋白中的大多数，除胶原蛋白 VI、VII、XXVI 和 XXVIII 外，可分为五个亚组：原纤维胶原蛋白、网络形成胶原蛋白、三螺旋中断的原纤维相关胶原蛋白、三螺旋中断的膜相关胶原蛋白和中断的多个三螺旋结构域。胶原蛋白肽由核糖体合成并进入粗面内质网，在那里它们经历许多翻译后修饰。胶原蛋白链形成三螺旋，可以分泌在细胞外基质中形成多种超分子结构。胶原蛋白普遍表达，并与多种疾病有关，包括具有肾脏表型的遗传性疾病。它们在肾纤维化中也起着重要作用，基于质谱的蛋白质组学研究提高了对肾脏疾病纤维化组成的理解。针对胶原蛋白和肾脏疾病的广泛疗法正在开发中，包括遗传方法、伴侣疗法、蛋白质降解策略和抗纤维化疗法。需要更好地了解胶原蛋白及其在疾病中的作用，以促进开发针对胶原蛋白和肾脏疾病的更特异性治疗方法。