: 1516  Bones fracture more easily than in the general public, but not as easily as more severe types of OI; there might be scoliosis, albeit mild compared to OI types III and IV, with a lower Cobb angle; the joints may be loose; blue sclerae may be apparent; hearing loss is likely to occur;: Table 1  and there might be a slight decrease in height. Because cases exist missing one or more of these symptoms, OI type I in some cases goes undetected into adulthood. : 1513–1514 Some further split type I into types I–A and I–B, defined as being distinguished by the absence (I–A) or presence (I–B) of dentinogenesis imperfecta (opalescent teeth). : 217  People with type I generally have a normal lifespan. Type II
Collagen is fatally defective at its C-terminus. : 1512  Most cases result in death shortly after birth, or within the first year of life, due to respiratory failure. Another common cause of death is intracranial bleeds from skull fractures present at, or sustained during or shortly after, birth. : 1511  In many cases, the newborn already has multiple broken bones at the time of birth. Type II infants also exhibit severe respiratory problems, and have severely deformed bones. Sixty percent of infants die less than 24 hours after being born, and survival after the first year is extremely unlikely and normally requires mechanical ventilation.
OI has high genetic heterogeneity, that is, many different genetic mutations lead to the same or similar sets of observable symptoms (phenotypes).The main causes for developing the disorder are a result of mutations in the COL1A1 and/or COL1A2 genes which are jointly responsible for the production of collagen type I. Approximately 90% of people with OI are heterozygous for mutations in either the COL1A1 or COL1A2 genes. There are several biological factors that are results of the dominant form of OI. These factors include: intracellular stress; abnormal tissue mineralization; abnormal cell to cell interactions; abnormal cell-matrix interactions; a compromised cell matrix structure; and, abnormal interaction between non-collagenous proteins and collagen.Previous research lead to the belief that OI was an autosomal dominant disorder with few other variations in genomes. However, with the lowering of the cost of DNA sequencing in the wake of 2003s Human Genome Project, autosomal recessive forms of the disorder have been identified. Recessive forms of OI relate heavily to defects in the collagen chaperones responsible for production of procollagen and the assembly of the related proteins. Examples of collagen chaperones that are defective in patients with recessive forms of OI include chaperone HSP47 (Cole-Carpenter syndrome) and FKBP65. Mutations in these chaperones result in an improper folding pattern in the collagen 1 proteins which causes the recessive form of the disorder. There are three significant types of OI that are a result of mutations in the collagen prolyl 3-hydroxylation complex (components CRTAP, P3H1, and CyPB).