UMR 5561 CNRS, Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne, 21000 Dijon, France.
Proteome Sci. 2010 Nov 4;8:54. doi: 10.1186/1477-5956-8-54.
The formation of the molluscan shell is regulated to a large extent by a matrix of extracellular macromolecules that are secreted by the shell forming tissue, the mantle. This so called "calcifying matrix" is a complex mixture of proteins and glycoproteins that is assembled and occluded within the mineral phase during the calcification process. While the importance of the calcifying matrix to shell formation has long been appreciated, most of its protein components remain uncharacterised.
Recent expressed sequence tag (EST) investigations of the mantle tissue from the tropical abalone (Haliotis asinina) provide an opportunity to further characterise the proteins in the shell by a proteomic approach. In this study, we have identified a total of 14 proteins from distinct calcified layers of the shell. Only two of these proteins have been previously characterised from abalone shells. Among the novel proteins are several glutamine- and methionine-rich motifs and hydrophobic glycine-, alanine- and acidic aspartate-rich domains. In addition, two of the new proteins contained Kunitz-like and WAP (whey acidic protein) protease inhibitor domains.
This is one of the first comprehensive proteomic study of a molluscan shell, and should provide a platform for further characterization of matrix protein functions and interactions.
软体动物壳的形成在很大程度上受到由壳形成组织（套膜）分泌的细胞外大分子基质的调节。这种所谓的“钙化基质”是一种蛋白质和糖蛋白的复杂混合物，在钙化过程中组装并包含在矿物质相中。虽然钙化基质对壳形成的重要性早已被认识，但它的大多数蛋白质成分仍未被描述。
最近对热带鲍鱼（Haliotis asinina）套膜组织的表达序列标签（EST）研究为通过蛋白质组学方法进一步研究壳中的蛋白质提供了机会。在这项研究中，我们从壳的不同钙化层中总共鉴定出 14 种蛋白质。其中只有两种蛋白质以前从鲍鱼壳中被描述过。在新发现的蛋白质中，有几个富含谷氨酰胺和蛋氨酸的基序和富含疏水性甘氨酸、丙氨酸和酸性天冬氨酸的结构域。此外，两种新蛋白质含有 Kunitz 样和 WAP（乳酸性蛋白）蛋白酶抑制剂结构域。
这是对软体动物壳进行的首次全面蛋白质组学研究之一，应该为进一步研究基质蛋白的功能和相互作用提供一个平台。
