Gene expression profiling of mouse growth plate cartilage by laser microdissection and microarray analysis

Abstract Longitudinal bone growth results from a complex sequence of events involving differentiation of resting chondroblasts into proliferative, pre-hypertrophic, and hypertrophic chondrocytes. The growth plate (epiphyseal plate), which is primarily responsible for longitudinal growth, can be divided into four distinct zones: the resting zone (RZ), proliferating zone (PZ), maturing zone (MZ), and hypertrophic zone (HZ), on the basis of the morphology of the developing chondroblasts and the structure of the cartilage matrix. In the past two decades substantial progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms underlying chondroblast differentiation and skeletal development [1–3]. However, comprehensive analysis of gene expression patterns in the growth plate has been technically challenging.