Indian Hedgehog Signaling in the Postnatal Growth Plate

In order to characterize mRNA expression in the growth plate, we microdissected postnatal rat growth plates into their constituent zones and used microarray analysis to assess the abundences of individual transcripts. Expression patterns of PTHrP and Ihh-related genes were confirmed using real-time PCR. Using a gli1-lacZ mouse, Gli1 expression, presumably representing Ihh signaling, was visualized during pre- and postnatal development.为了表征生长板（growth plate）中的mRNA表达特征，我们将出生后大鼠的生长板显微解剖为其组成区域，并通过基因芯片分析（microarray analysis）评估单个转录本的丰度。我们采用实时定量PCR（real-time PCR）验证了甲状旁腺激素相关蛋白（PTHrP）与印度刺猬因子（Ihh）相关基因的表达模式。借助gli1-lacZ小鼠（gli1-lacZ mouse），我们对Gli1的表达（该表达推测可反映Ihh信号通路）在产前与产后发育阶段进行了可视化观测。