Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2011 Nov;26(11):3436-9. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfr521. Epub 2011 Sep 29.
Biomineralization at pathological extraosseous sites (i.e. vasculature and soft tissues) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. So-called 'nanobacteria' have been described as pathogenic agents causing many diseases including calcification. Initially, their appearance, and having a content consisting of nucleic acids plus proteins and properties of growing structures, suggested that they were living organisms. However, it could be demonstrated that the so-called nanobacteria were in fact mineralizing nanoparticles that contain mineral and non-mineral compounds, that these particles bind to charged molecules and that supersaturation enables in vitro growth of these nanoparticles. Recent data indicate that nanoparticles consisting of protein-mineral complexes can be seen both in vitro and in vivo as precursors of matrix calcification.
病理性骨外部位（即血管和软组织）的生物矿化与发病率和死亡率的增加有关。所谓的“纳米细菌”被描述为致病因子，可引起多种疾病，包括钙化。最初，它们的外观、由核酸加蛋白质组成的物质以及生长结构的特性表明它们是活的生物体。然而，可以证明所谓的纳米细菌实际上是矿化纳米颗粒，这些纳米颗粒包含矿物质和非矿物质化合物，这些颗粒与带电分子结合，并且过饱和度使这些纳米颗粒能够在体外生长。最近的数据表明，由蛋白质-矿物质复合物组成的纳米颗粒既可以在体外，也可以在体内作为基质钙化的前体。
