Cell culture studies on neurofibromatosis (von Recklinghausen's disease). IV. Collagen synthesis.

Comparative measurements of collagen synthesis as a portion of total protein synthesis were performed with fragments of peripheral neurofibromas, of skin adjacent to the tumors, and of unaffected skin from patients with neurofibromatosis (NF). No significant difference was found among these various samples. Collagen synthesis was also measured in cell cultures derived from peripheral neurofibromas of eight NF patients and from skin of ten healthy donors. No differences observed in the following respective parameters: dependence on the concentration of fetal calf serum; dependence on cell population density; portion of synthesized collagens in the culture medium and the cell layer. The ratios of synthesized collagen types III to type I, determined in five pairs of NF and control strains, vary within the same range.