Abstract
The involvement of collagen in bone biomineralization is commonly admitted, yet its role remains unclear. Here we show that type I collagen in vitro can initiate and orientate the growth of carbonated apatite mineral in the absence of any other vertebrate extracellular matrix molecules of calcifying tissues. We also show that the collagen matrix influences the structural characteristics on the atomic scale, and controls the size and the three-dimensional distribution of apatite at larger length scales. These results call into question recent consensus in the literature on the need for Ca-rich non-collagenous proteins for collagen mineralization to occur in vivo. Our model is based on a collagen/apatite self-assembly process that combines the ability to mimic the in vivo extracellular fluid with three major features inherent to living bone tissue, that is, high fibrillar density, monodispersed fibrils and long-range hierarchical organization.
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Acknowledgements
We dedicate this work to the memory of Y. Bouligand (1935–2011). This work was supported by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) through the ANR-09-BLAN-0120-01 ‘NanoShap’ program and the DRITT-SAIC (UPMC). We thank G. Laurent and M. Selmane for technical assistance with the NMR spectrometer and WAXD experiments respectively; A. Anglo, C. Illoul and E. Jallot for preparation of TEM samples; S. Mann, J. Peron, F. Michaux and Ö. Sel for insightful discussions and critical suggestions; A. Galtayries for X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiments and IMM Recherche, especially L. Behr, for providing the fresh bone samples.
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Y.W., T.A., M.R., C.C., P.L., G.P-A. and N.N. performed the research; F.B. looked for financial support for the project; Y.W., T.A., A.V., G.P-A., F.B., M-M.G-G. and N.N. analysed data; Y.W., T.A., C.C., A.V., M-M.G-G. and N.N. wrote the paper; N.N. designed the research.
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Wang, Y., Azaïs, T., Robin, M. et al. The predominant role of collagen in the nucleation, growth, structure and orientation of bone apatite. Nature Mater 11, 724–733 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3362
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3362
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