Epithelial-mesenchymal transition and mesenchymal-epithelial transition response during differentiation of growth-plate chondrocytes in endochondral ossification.

ABSTRACT: For linear longitudinal bone elongation, the stem-like progenitor chondrocytes distributed in resting zone (RZ) of growth plate have a capacity to differentiate towards the spindle chondrocytes in proliferative zone (PZ), then towards the columnar and tightly adjacent chondrocytes in hypertrophic zone (HZ). We hypothesized this process of endochondral ossification with cells morphological change was occurred along with the inter-conversion between epithelial to mesenchymal cell types. Consistent with this hypothesis, our study demonstrated the chondrocytes highly expressed mesenchymal-like biomarkers and loss of epithelial surface markers in PZ, while converse in RZ and HZ of the growth plate in mice distal tibia in vivo. To further determine these process and correlation regulatory pathwa

SUBMITTER: Zhou S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4612804 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature