Immune Flex

Undenatured Type II Collagen

Type II Collagen
Cartilage is one of the primary connective tissues of the body, providing flexibility and support to bone joints. Type II collagen , a triple helix molecule, is the principal structural protein in cartilage that's responsible for its tensile strength and toughness. Sometimes, the body's immune system mistakes type II collagen in human joints as a foreign invader and sends antibodies to attack and destroy the collagen, which can adversely affect joint mobility and flexibility. When the body attacks itself in the manner it is called an autoimmune disease. Recent studies at Harvard University Medical School, and elsewhere, have shown that small doses of undenatured type II collagen derived from chicken cartilage works with the human immune system to prevent the body from attacking its joints.
Oral Tolerization
Type II collagen administered orally works with the immune system to promote healthy joints by a process called Oral tolerization. This process helps the body to differentiate between foreign invaders, such as bacteria, and elements that are good for the body, such as nutrients. The process of oral tolerization takes place in the small intestine where food is absorbed. Through a complex series of immunological events, patches of lymphoid tissue surrounding the small intestine screen incoming compounds and serve as a "switch" to turn the body's immune response to foreign substances on or off, depending upon what that substance is. In the case of type II collagen, small amounts (typically 10 milligrams or less) of undenatured type II collagen taken orally have been shown to turn off the immune response targeted at the type II collagen present in bone joint cartilage, improving joint mobility and flexibility.
Undenatured Type II Collagen
Undenatured type II collagen is collagen that is present in its natural triple helix molecular configuration. To date, all of the published research on type II collagen and arthritis, including four studies at Harvard Medical School, were done on undenatured type II collagen. According to Dr. Dave E. Trentham, the Harvard Medical School researcher and leading arthritis expert, "type II collagen must be in its native (undenatured) form to be effective."
Undenatured type II collagen molecules contain active binding sites called "epitopes," which trigger the process of oral tolerization. Like a lock and key mechanism, epitopes interact with receptors located on patches of lymphoid tissue surrounding the small intestine, call "Peyer's Patches," which in turn trigger a complex chain of immunological events that correct the cause of immune-induced arthritis. Epitopes are only present in undenatured type II collagen. They are destroyed when type II collagen is hydrolyzed or denatured.