Abstract
Mineralization is the precipitation of calcium phosphate, but biochemical mediation of this process is not fully understood. In this chapter, the chemistry underlying mineralization (Sect. 1) and the structures of bones and teeth (Sect. 2) are described. Osteoblasts secrete osteoid matrix and matrix vesicles that transport type I collagen and calcium phosphate, respectively, to the matrix where they will mineralize. Secreted matrix vesicles take up calcium and phosphate until they burst and release the calcium phosphate, which then redissolves and remineralizes around the type I collagen (Sect. 3). Glycoproteins involved in correctly modeling bone and dentin, and the role of osteocalcin in limiting excessive bone growth is then discussed (Sect. 4). There follows a detailed description of enamel (E) mineralization and of the major proteins involved (Sect. 5) followed by two summaries: the difference between enamel and bone mineralization, and the vitamins required for mineralization (Sect. 6).
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© 2011 Springer Berlin Heidelberg
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Levine, M. (2011). Biological Mineralization. In: Topics in Dental Biochemistry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-88116-2_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-88116-2_9
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-88115-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-88116-2
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