Convergent Recognition of a Triple Helical Hydrophobic Motif in Collagen

Principal receptors for collagen, the most abundant component of the extracellular matrix (ECM), come from the integrin and discoidin domain (DDR) gene families. The latter are a class of receptor tyrosine kinases that bind to several collagens and mediate intracellular signaling. Carafoli et al. recently described a crystal structure of a DDR in complex with a trimeric collagen peptide ligand