Functional characterization of noncollagenous bone matrix proteins

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

In calcified tissues, noncollagenous proteins are dispersed throughout the extracellular matrix and although they represent minor constituents, they exert major regulatory influences on the deposition of mineral and the activity of the cells responsible for the formation of the tissue. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which implicated proteins express their function is the next challenge scientists face in understanding how the body functions and how disease alters this pattern. Despite the relative abundance of biochemical data on noncollagenous proteins, their precise role in vivo, where the whole animal biology comes into play, remains to be determined. Information on the activities and properties of these proteins has been largely deduced from their temporo-spatial pattern of expression and often tested experimentally using in vitro systems in which, at most, few parameters can be evaluated at a time. Gene transfer will be used to create local transgenic conditions in a rat model of intramembranous bone formation and examine the role of specific functional domains of major noncollagenous bone matrix proteins. This approach offers a simple system in which portion and domains of a molecule can be tested for function and therapeutic potential in an environment that reflects the complex nature of the body. Such an approach is less time consuming and costly then creating a knockout