An Acidic Matrix Protein, Pif, Is a Key Macromolecule for Nacre Formation

作者：Michio Suzuki, Kazuko Saruwatari, Toshihiro Kogure, Yuya Yamamoto, Tatsuya Nishimura, Takashi Kato, Hiromichi Nagasawa · 发表于：Science · 年份：2009 · DOI：10.1126/science.1173793 · 被引用次数：726 · 研究领域：Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition、Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies、Bone Tissue Engineering Materials

The mollusk shell is a hard tissue consisting of calcium carbonate crystals and an organic matrix. The nacre of the shell is characterized by a stacked compartment structure with a uniformly oriented c axis of aragonite crystals in each compartment. Using a calcium carbonate-binding assay, we identified an acidic matrix protein, Pif, in the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata that specifically binds to aragonite crystals. The Pif complementary DNA (cDNA) encoded a precursor protein, which was posttranslationally cleaved to produce Pif 97 and Pif 80. The results from immunolocalization, a knockdown experiment that used RNA interference, and in vitro calcium carbonate crystallization studies strongly indicate that Pif regulates nacre formation.