d.3. Bone Acidic Glycoprotein-75 and Dentin Matrix Protein-1

Another sialoprotein originally isolated from rat bone has an apparent molecular weight of ∼75 kDa and hence is called bone acidic glycoprotein-75 (BAG-75) [424–426]. This protein is heavily glycosylated and contains 7% sialic acid and 8% phosphate. Thirty percent of the residues in this protein are acidic in nature. Whereas in culture, cells from soft connective tissues have been found to synthesize low levels of this protein, BAG-75 is found only in bone, dentin, and growth plate cartilage.

The cDNA and the gene have not been cloned for this molecule. However, there are some data available from direct amino acid sequencing. The amino terminus is approximately 30% homologous with osteopontin. In fact, it does contain polyacid stretches, as do osteopontin and bone sialoprotein [427–429]. In addition, BAG-75 contains both polyaspartate and polyglutamate domains, as well as several phosphorylation sites and an RGD cell binding site [391].

The BAG-75 protein binds with high affinity to both hydroxyapatite and Ca²⁺ ions, as well as to collagen [429]. Immunolocalized next to cells in bone and concentrated in newly formed osteoid, this protein may combine the properties of osteopontin (a mineralization inhibitor) and bone sialoprotein (a nucleator) [425, 426]. BAG-75 also inhibits the resorptive activity of osteoclasts, presumably by blocking its access to bone mineral [430].

Related to BAG-75 is its homologue, DMP-1 [400, 431], another member of SIBLINGs, which is expressed specifically in mineralized tissues by hypertrophic chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and osteocytes [432]. The Human Genome Project has shown that DMP-1 is also located at 4q21.3 in human, closely between DSPP and BSP genes, and contains the similar exon–intron structures [357]. The RGD sequences in DMP-1 are located at the last exon, which also encodes the vast majority of the protein (Figure 9-12). To date, a 2, 512-bp upstream segment of the human DMP-1 gene has been isolated and characterized. A CCAAT site was identified in the promoter and a cis-regulatory element located between –150 and –63 was found to act as a specific silencer for the gene regulation in some culture systems [433, 434]. Transgenic mice utilizing a mouse DMP-1 promoter cis-regulatory system to drive a GFP marker have been generated [435]. In these mice, osteocyte-restricted expression of GFP was observed in histological sections of femur and calvaria and in primary cell cultures, further stressing a role of DMP-1 in mineralization rather than early development of skeleton.

Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetate Acid Tetrasodium Salt (EDTA-4Na)

DMP-1 was originally cloned from teeth and expressed as an unphosphorylated 37-kDa fragment, which functioned as a weaker nucleator or inhibitor in solution [400]. A phosphorylated 57-kDa C-terminal peptide of DMP-1 was also identified from teeth and was an effective nucleator of hydroxyapatite formation [400, 436–438]. However, the full-length phosphorylated form of DMP-1, which has been shown to be expressed by bone marrow stromal cells, is an effective mineralization inhibitor [357, 438]. The DMP-1 knock-out mice have hypomineralized bones and teeth [439, 440], also indicating an inhibitory role of this protein. In addition, these mice were shown to overexpress MEPE [441], another potential mineralization inhibitor that was found in rodent bones and teeth in a maturation-dependent manner [442, 443].