Abstract
The perichondrium, a structure made of undifferentiated mesenchymal cells surrounding growth plate cartilage, regulates chondrocyte maturation through poorly understood mechanisms. Analyses of loss- and gain-of-function models show that Twist-1, whose expression in cartilage is restricted to perichondrium, favors chondrocyte maturation in a Runx2-dependent manner. Runx2, in turn, enhances perichondrial expression of Fgf18, a regulator of chondrocyte maturation. Accordingly, compound heterozygous embryos for Runx2 and Fgf18 deletion display the same chondrocyte maturation phenotype as Fgf18-null embryos. This study identifies a transcriptional basis for the inhibition of chondrocyte maturation by perichondrium and reveals that Runx2 fulfills antagonistic functions during chondrogenesis.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2937-2942 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Genes and Development |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 21 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1 2006 |
Keywords
- Chondrocyte maturation
- FGF18
- Perichondrium
- Runx2
- Twist-1
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Genetics
- Developmental Biology