Spatial and Temporal Regulation of Gene Expression in the Mammalian Growth Plate

To explore the mechanisms responsible for spatial and temporal regulation of the growth plate, we microdissected postnatal rat growth plates into their constituent zones and then used microarray analysis to characterize the changes in gene expression that occur as chondrocytes undergo spatially-associated differentiation and temporally-associated senescence. Microdissection was used to collect individual growth plate zones from proximal tibiae of 1-wk rats and the proliferative and early hypertrophic zones of growth plates from 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-wk rats and gene expression was analyzed using microarray.