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Control of Calcium Phosphate Nucleation and Transformation through Interactions of Enamelin and Amelogenin Exhibits the “Goldilocks Effect”

Journal Article · · Crystal Growth and Design
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [3];  [5]
  1. Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, United States
  2. Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, United States; Laboratory of Materials and Interface Chemistry and Center of Multiscale Electron Microscopy, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
  3. Univeristy of Southern California, Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Los Angeles, California 90033, United States
  4. Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre, Grenoble 38000, France
  5. Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, United States; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States

Although amelogenin comprises the vast majority of the matrix that templates calcium phosphate nucleation during enamel formation, other proteins, particularly enamelin, are also known to play an important role in the formation of enamel’s intricate architecture. However, there is little understanding of the interplay between amelogenin and enamelin in controlling processes of mineral nucleation and growth. Here we used an in vitro model to investigate the impact of enamelin co-assembly with amelogenin on calcium phosphate nucleation for a range of enamelin-to-amelogenin ratios. We found that amelogenin alone is a weak promoter of nucleation, but addition of enamelin enhanced nucleation rates in a highly non-linear, non-monotonic manner reaching a sharp maximum at a ratio of 1:50. We provide a phenomenological model to explain this effect that assumes only isolated enamelin proteins can act as sites of enhanced nucleation, while enamelin oligomers cannot. Even when co-assembly is random, the model reproduces the observed behavior, suggesting a simple means to tightly control the timing and extent of nucleation and phase transformation by amelogenin and enamelin.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1496771
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-136440
Journal Information:
Crystal Growth and Design, Journal Name: Crystal Growth and Design Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 18; ISSN 1528-7483
Publisher:
American Chemical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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