Identification of dicalcium phosphate dihydrate deposited during osteoblast mineralization in vitro.

The hydroxyapatite (HAP) with variable chemical substitutions has been considered as the major component in the mineralized part of bones. Various metastable crystalline phases have been suggested as transitory precursors of HAP in bone, but there are no consensuses as to the nature of these phases and their temporal evolution. In the present study, we cultured rat calvarial osteoblasts with ascorbate and β-glycerophosphate to explore which calcium phosphate precursor phases comprise the initial mineral in the process of osteoblast mineralization in vitro.

Gadolinium-promoted precipitation of calcium phosphate is associated with profibrotic activation of RAW 264.7 macrophages.

Gadolinium-based contrast agents are now being linked to nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF). The exact mechanism by which gadolinium species act in the pathogenesis of NSF is not fully understood. In this study, we evaluated the effect of gadolinium chloride (GdCl(3)) on the precipitation of calcium phosphate, and examined the role of the gadolinium-containing precipitates in the profibrotic activation of macrophages.