Statherin (STATH)

Statherin may play an important role in the maintenance of oral health since, like the proline-rich proteins, it binds calcium and inhibits crystal growth. Statherin also inhibits spontaneous precipitation of calcium phosphate salts. Thus, statherin and PRPs may prevent build-up of harmful deposits in the salivary glands and on the tooth surfaces.Statherin is a highly stable salivary protein of low molecular mass (5,380). Sabatini et al. synthesized mixed oligonucleotides based on the known amino acid sequence of statherin and used these to screen a cDNA library constructed from human parotid gland mRNA. A study of DNA from human-hamster somatic cell hybrids indicated that statherin is coded by a single-copy gene located in region 4q11-q13. Dentinogenesis imperfecta and perhaps juvenile periodontitis are coded in the same region.