Extracellular DNA: A Missing Link in the Pathogenesis of Ectopic Mineralization.

ABSTRACT: Although deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the genetic coding for the very essence of life, these macromolecules or components thereof are not necessarily lost after a cell dies. There appears to be a link between extracellular DNA and biomineralization. Here the authors demonstrate that extracellular DNA functions as an initiator of collagen intrafibrillar mineralization. This is confirmed with in vitro and in vivo biological mineralization models. Because of their polyanionic property, extracellular DNA molecules are capable of stabilizing supersaturated calcium phosphate solution and mineralizing 2D and 3D collagen matrices completely as early as 24 h. The effectiveness of extracellular DNA in biomineralization of collagen is attributed to the relatively stable formation of amorphous liqui

SUBMITTER: Shen MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8844461 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature