Figure 2.

Results from a representative loading simulation.

(A) Representative images of the helical conformation at t=0 (left, unloaded) and as the force increases (right, illustrated with larger arrows). Region exhibiting microunfolding is indicated within the circle.

(B) Plot of Interchain Spacing (ICS) measurements as the force increases to bend and unfold the triple helix, indicated within the left and right rectangles respectively. ICS measured the distance between one C-α from each chain of the peptide backbone in a plane approximately perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule and near the loaded pseudo cross-link. A running median was fit to the data, and the magnitude of force was measured at the mid-point of the minor and major transitions (marked with an * in figure).