Detection of collagen degradation products in bone

Multifunctional materials for bone cancer treatment

The purpose of this review is to present the most recent findings in bone tissue engineering. Special attention is given to multifunctional materials based on collagen and collagen-hydroxyapatite composites used for skin and bone cancer treatments. The multi-functionality of these materials was obtained by adding to the base regenerative grafts proper components, such as ferrites (magnetite being the most important representative), cytostatics (cisplatin, carboplatin, vincristine, methotrexate, paclitaxel, doxorubicin), silver nanoparticles, antibiotics (anthracyclines, geldanamycin), and/or analgesics (ibuprofen, fentanyl). The suitability of complex systems for the intended applications was systematically analyzed. The developmental possibilities of multifunctional materials with regenerative and curative roles (antitumoral as well as pain management) in the field of skin and bone cancer treatment are discussed. It is worth mentioning that better materials are likely to be developed by combining conventional and unconventional experimental strategies.

Crystallinity and solubility characteristics of hydroxyapatite adsorbed amino acid

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) was synthesized in the presence of a variety of amino acids in order to investigate the effect of amino acid on the crystallinity and the solubility characteristics of HAp in the HAp-synthesizing condition. In the results of X-ray diffraction analysis, HAp synthesized in the presence of glycine (HAp-Gly), serine (HAp-Ser), aspartic acid (HAp-Asp) and glutamic acid (HAp-Glu) showed poor crystallinity compared with HAp synthesized in the absence of amino acid (HAp-con). The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy suggested the adsorption of these amino acids on HAp. Scanning electron microphotographs showed that the size and morphology of HAp adsorbed amino acids changed significantly. Furthermore, the solubility of these HAps increased significantly compared to HAp-con, each differing in four amino acids. However, other amino acids did not affect the crystallinity and morphology of HAp and had no significant change in their solubility. Collectively, this study suggests that the crystallinity and the solubility of synthesized HAp are different owing to the variation of amino acids in the HAp synthesizing condition. It is expected that digestion-regulated HAp materials could be synthesized by using amino acid in their synthesizing condition.

Extraction from bone powder: collagen, calcium and phosphate

A method for the estimation of the extraction rate is shown and exemplified by preliminary data from extraction of collagen, calcium and phosphate with EDTA and neutral salt solution. The initial extraction rate was high, even with neutral salt solution, and optimal extraction efficiency was obtained within 24 h.

Comparative collagen biochemistry of bovine periodontium, gingiva, and dental pulp

Cross-linking patterns of the collagen from bovine gingiva, periodontium, and dental pulp were analyzed chromatographically. The ratios of two main cross-links, dihydroxylysinonorleucine to hydroxylysinonorlecuine, were 0.18, 0.31, and 0.49 for the bovine gingiva, periodontium, and dental pulp collagen, respectively. These ratios are similar to that of skin collagen rather than that of bone and dentin collagen.

Location of an intermolecular crosslink in bovine bone collagen

A peptide containing 59 amino acid residues with a stoichiometric amount of dihydroxylysinonorleucine (0.7 mole) and hydroxylysinonorleucine (0.2 mole) was isolated from reduced 3H labelled bovine bone collagen sequentially cleaved with CNBr and trypsin. Further cleavage of the isolated crosslinked peptide with periodate yielded a radioactive peptide of 45 residues and a non-radioactive peptide of 16 residues. From the characteristic amino acid composition of these peptides it was deduced that the peptide was derived from an intermolecularly crosslinked region between lysyl or hydroxylysl residues in the carboxy-terminal extension of alpha 1-CB6 (17C residue) and alpha 1-CB5 (87th residue). This finding supports the observation that the alpha 1-CB6 peak was prominent on carboxymethyl cellulose chromatography of the CNBr digest of bone collagen only after limited pepsin digestion, and is consistent with the results obtained from a smaller crosslinked peptide previously isolated from calf bone collagen.

Detection of collagen degradation products from subcutaneously implanted organic bone matrix

Demineralized bovine bone powder was reduced with NaB3H4 to label the collagen crosslinks with tritium. The powder was enclosed in small nylon mesh pouches and implanted subcutaneously into rats for 3 weeks. Histological examinations revealed that multinuclear giant cells accumulated around the bone matrix, some in Howship's lacunae. Collagenous peptides containing intermolecular crosslinks were detected in the urea-soluble fraction extracted from the implant. Two crosslink-containing peptides were isolated from a dialyzable fraction: one contained dihydroxylysinonorleucine and the other hydroxylysinonorleucine. Both peptides had molecular weights of approximately 1000 estimated from the elution positions of gel filtration chromatography; and both had similar quantitative compositions of amino acids. There were no homologous peptides detected in a control experiment of the reduced bone matrix which was incubated in vitro with buffered saline for 1 week at 37 degrees C.

Calcium-specific precipitation of dentin phosphoprotein: a new method of purification and the significance for the mechanism of calcification

Calcium, but not magnesium or strontium ions, specifically induce the precipitation of dentin phosphoprotein, which is reversibly solubilized by EDTA. This finding is very useful in pruifying dentin phosphoprotein of either a free or matrix-bound type. Bovine dentin phosphoproteins, thus isolated, contain a minimal amount of contaminant protein, unlike previous preparations.

Enhanced collagenase activity in diabetic rat gingiva: in vitro and in vivo evidence

Gingiva from alloxan and streptozotocin-diabetic rats exhibited markedly enhanced collagenolytic activity in tissue culture. This effect was eliminated by puromycin or by repeated freeze-thawing of the tissue prior to incubation. Soluble extracts of the diabetic gingiva in situ were found to contain breakdown products of collagen similar in size to the reaction products generated by tissue collagenase. These fragments were not detected in the control tissue. This study indicates that experimental diabetes stimulates the synthesis of gingival collagenase in culture and that a similar effect occurs in vivo.