Smad4 deficiency impairs chondrocyte hypertrophy via the Runx2 transcription factor in mouse skeletal development [RNA-seq]

Smad4 is a central mediator of canonical TGF/BMP signaling and plays important roles in mesenchymal cell aggregation, chondrocyte differentiation, osteoblast differentiation and maturation. However, the regulatory mechanism of Smad4 underlying chondrocyte hypertrophy during skeletal development is unknown. To elucidate the molecular mechanism by which Smad4 deficiency impairs chondrocyte hypertrophy, we performed high-throughput RNA-seq to identify target genes involved in Smad4-regulated chondrocyte hypertrophy. Our results suggest that Smad4 controls chondrocyte hypertrophy through regulating Runx2 expression during skeletal development. We performed high-throughput RNA-seq to examine genes with altered expression in Smad4-/- forelimbs at E11.5-E14.5.