The role of synthetic and bone extracted Ca-phospholipid-PO4 complexes in hydroxyapatite formation.

The calcium-phospholipid-phosphate (Ca-PL-PO4) complex isolated from young bone has been shown to initiate hydroxyapatite formation from a metastable calcium phosphate solution. The action of the complex was compared to that of the acidic phospholipids: phosphatidyl serine, phosphatidyl inositol and phosphatidic acid. These phospholipids first remove calcium, and a small amount of phosphate from the metastable solution forming a material similar to the complex isolated from bone, and then form hydroxyapatite. The rate of hydroxyapatite proliferation, once phosphatidyl serine and phosphatidyl inositol are converted to Ca-PL-PO4 complexes, is the same as the rate observed for comparable weights of the complex isolated from bone. It is suggested that the complex isolated from bone was formed in a manner similar to the complexes in our in vitro experiments. Finally, our evidence supports the possibility that a similar complex is responsible for the initial mineralization in matrix vesicles.