Fig. 3. Growth plates of Ppr^d/– mice. (A) Tibia of E17.5 Ppr^+/+, Ppr^d/– and Col2-Cre:Ppr^fl/fl embryos. The growth plates and the bone length (indicated by black brackets) in the Ppr^d/– are greater than in the wild type, whereas they are reduced in the Col2-Cre:Ppr^fl/fl mouse. Note that the post-proliferating region (the hypertrophic zone and the marrow region that replaced hypertrophic chondrocytes) indicated by the blue brackets is not much different among these animals. (B) Differentiation marker expression in E17.5 embryos. Col-II, type II collagen; Col-X, type X collagen; Ihh, Indian hedgehog; Ppr, parathyroid hormone receptor (detected by R15B probe); Opn, osteopontin. (C) High-magnification view of growth plates of the E17.5 proximal tibia. In contrast to the great expansion of the hypertrophic region, the periarticular and columnar regions are slightly smaller in the Ppr^d/–. Brackets indicate the three regions: P, periarticular region; C, columnar region; H, hypertrophic region. (D) CaPpr expression overcomes the Ppr^d/– phenotype. In situ hybridization of the indicated markers shows the identical patterns between caPpr and caPpr: Ppr^d/– double mutants.

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