Type VII Collagen

**Semantic type:** Amino Acid, Peptide, or Protein

**Definition:** Type VII collagen is a homotrimeric helical complex of the collagen alpha-1(VII) chain protein (COL7A1). This collagen is the major component of anchoring fibrils, which are specialized extracellular attachment complexes that form at the epithelium/mesenchyme interface in certain tissues. Following secretion of the triple-helical complex, two type VII collagen molecules align into an anti-parallel dimer, the carboxy-terminal non-collagenous domains (NC2) of both type VII collagen molecules are proteolytically removed and the anti-parallel dimer is stabilized by intermolecular disulfide bond formation. A large number of the stabilized anti-parallel dimers aggregate laterally to form anchoring fibrils.

**Synonyms:** - COLLAGEN TYPE VII - COLVII - Collagen 7 - Collagen Type VII - Collagen VII