# Project 3: Collagen post-translational modification and cross-linking in OI

> **NIH NIH P01** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2020 · $279,182

## Abstract

Project 3 Summary
In this, Project 3, of an interinstitutional collaboration our goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms that
underlie the brittle bone that is the hallmark of the heritable disorder, osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). Our focus
is on the collagen matrix of bone which determines the material toughness of the tissue and the template in
which the mineral is deposited during bone formation. During the first 5-year period in collaboration with
Projects 1 and 2 we have discovered, by analyzing bone and other tissue collagens from mouse models and
human OI cases, a strong interplay between the mechanisms of collagen prolyl 3-hydroxylation and lysyl
hydroxylation in the control of collagen cross-linking quality and predictably bone strength. Going forward we
plan to define the molecular basis for this. Our methods remain focused on using analytical tandem mass
spectrometry as a tool to interrogate and compare abnormal collagen structures from various genetic forms of
OI. The significance extends to a better understanding of brittle bone more generally with potential for new
therapeutic molecular targets and diagnostic methods.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9974356
- **Project number:** 5P01HD070394-10
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** David R Eyre
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $279,182
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9974356

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9974356, Project 3: Collagen post-translational modification and cross-linking in OI (5P01HD070394-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9974356. Licensed CC0.

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