IN BRIEF:
Exogenous collagen leads to --> High levels of collagen in the bloodstream --> Triggers the production of Ghrelin in an attempt to remake the balance --> Ghrelin induces hunger and leads to weight gain.
DETAILED:
Unusually high levels of collagen in the bloodstream will trigger the production of ghrelin hormone, in an attempt to suppress the endogenous collagen production. Ghrelin is called the "hunger hormone" and increases appetite.
Collagen and Ghrelin are both peptides, so perhaps they have some affinity for each other, or use similar mechanisms.
High collagen deposition impedes the heart and the kidneys to perform their functions, so high collagen in the bloodstream will be fought by various mechanisms, one of them being Ghrelin production.
When the body is flooded with exogenous collagen, Ghrelin production increases, in order to help with diminishing the endogenous production of collagen, in a try to rebalance.
Ghrelin also decreases thyroid hormone and testosterone.
Low levels of thyroid hormone and testosterone are well-known for triggering weight gain.
QUOTES:
Ghrelin is a hormone that sends a signal to your brain to feel hungry.
Ghrelin is termed the 'hunger hormone' because it stimulates appetite, increases food intake and promotes fat storage.
Ghrelin attenuates collagen production in lesional fibroblasts from patients with systemic sclerosis
Ghrelin levels increase during a diet and intensify hunger, making it hard to lose weight
Ghrelin protects the heart against cardiac dysfunction by inhibiting excessive collagen deposition
Ghrelin inhibits renal fibrosis by attenuating the production of collagen
Ghrelin decreases thyroid hormone and testosterone
Ghrelin - peptide link: Ghrelin is a gastric peptide hormone
Collagen - peptide link: The beginning of collagen synthesis begins with turning on genes which are associated with the formation of a particular alpha peptide
Mechanisms of cardiac collagen deposition in experimental models and human disease
The roles of collagen in chronic kidney disease and vascular calcification
