Antibody formation against human collagen and C1q in response to a bovine collagen implant.

The humoral immune response to commercially available bovine collagen implants (Zyderm, Zyplast) is characterized in a 45-year-old female patient. Circulating anti-collagen antibodies were detected after eight injections of Zyderm and after two injections of Zyplast given during a period of 3 years. The specificity of these antibodies for bovine and human collagens as well as for the collagen-like region of C1q (a subcomponent of the first component of complement), was investigated by affinity chromatography. Serum levels of anti-collagen and anti-C1q antibodies were measured using ELISA. High levels of antibodies to bovine collagens, showing a strong cross-reactivity with human collagen type III were detected in the patient's serum. Only weak cross-reactivity with human collagen type I and IV and no reactivity with type II were observed. In addition, these antibodies specifically cross-reacted with the collagen-like region of C1q. The antibody levels decreased continuously and disappeared 1 year after cessation of treatment. These results demonstrate for the first time the formation of autoantibodies upon treatment with a bovine collagen implant. Although antibodies to collagens and C1q have been found in various autoimmune diseases, neither adverse reactions to the bovine collagen implant nor any other clinical symptoms were observed in association with the described antibody response.