The amino-acid composition of the non-collagenous organic matrix of human cementum

Abstract

Human cementum was demineralized and exhaustively extracted with EDTA and then digested with collagenase. The insoluble residue after digestion was extracted successively with 8M urea and with 8M urea containing 0.1 M mercaptoethanol. The non-collagenous fraction accounted for a larger proportion of the total organic matrix than previously found in bone and dentine, largely due to the presence of more collagenase-insoluble material. Fractionation of the EDTA-soluble material resulted in less-acidic fractions, showing similarities to the corresponding fractions of bone and dentine, and anionic fractions with lower levels of acidic amino acids than those from other hard tissues. Fractions obtained from the soluble collagenase-released material after ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration, although more heterogeneous than those of bone and dentine, showed many similarities, thus confirming the close homology within this fraction from the various hard tissues. The insoluble residue after collagenase digestion appeared to be of the acid-structural protein type found also in bone, dentine and a wide range of connective tissues.