Nanobacteria Are Mineralo Fetuin Complexes

PLoS Pathogens

Régis Guieu¹  Yvon Berland¹  Bernard La Scola²  Patrick Fourquet³  Bernard Campagna⁴  Jean-Pierre Gorvel⁵  Patricia Renesto⁶  Didier Raoult⁷  Saïd Azza⁷  Eric Lechevalier⁷  Jean-Louis Mege⁷  Michel Drancourt⁷  Jean-Marc Rolain⁷  Claude Nappez⁷  Pascal Mansuelle⁷ 

[1] Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique FRE2738, Faculté de Médecine Secteur Nord, Marseille, France;Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 6102, Marseille, France;Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, Aix Marseille Université, Faculté de Sciences de Luminy, Marseille, France;INSERM, U631, Marseille, France;Service d'Urologie, Hôpital de la Conception, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, France;Service de Nephrologie, Hôpital de la Conception, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, France;Unité des Rickettsies, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 6020, IFR 48, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France

关键词: Nanoparticles;    Nanobacteria;    Bionanotechnology;    Electron microscopy;    Enzyme-linked immunoassays;    Thin films;    DAPI staining;    HeLa cells;   

DOI  :  10.1371/journal.ppat.0040041

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Public Library of Science

【 摘 要 】

“Nanobacteria” are nanometer-scale spherical and ovoid particles which have spurred one of the biggest controversies in modern microbiology. Their biological nature has been severely challenged by both geologists and microbiologists, with opinions ranging from considering them crystal structures to new life forms. Although the nature of these autonomously replicating particles is still under debate, their role in several calcification-related diseases has been reported. In order to gain better insights on this calciferous agent, we performed a large-scale project, including the analysis of “nanobacteria” susceptibility to physical and chemical compounds as well as the comprehensive nucleotide, biochemical, proteomic, and antigenic analysis of these particles. Our results definitively ruled out the existence of “nanobacteria” as living organisms and pointed out the paradoxical role of fetuin (an anti-mineralization protein) in the formation of these self-propagating mineral complexes which we propose to call “nanons.” The presence of fetuin within renal calculi was also evidenced, suggesting its role as a hydroxyapatite nucleating factor.

【 授权许可】

CC BY