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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Dec 8.
Published in final edited form as: Matrix Biol. 2020 Sep 28;94:95–109. doi: 10.1016/j.matbio.2020.09.002

Figure 8. Schematic summary of the role of Bgn and CS in water retention in extracellular bone matrix and bone toughness.

Figure 8.

Structurally, bone is comprised of mineralized collagen fibrils embedded in bone extrafibrillar matrix. These mineral crystals are bounded through organic interface of non-collagenous proteins and bound water. Bgn belongs to small leucine-rich proteoglycans with two sulfate chains and has a great potential to absorb water into the matrix. With deficiency of Bgn in knockout mouse model, there was a decreased amount of CS, total GAGs and bound water in bone matrix, along with the compromised bone toughness due to impaired water retention capability.