Co-Authors:
Simsa, S., Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel
Genina, O., Institute of Animal Science, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Ornan, E.M., Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel
Abstract:
Vertebrate long bones are formed by endochondral ossification, a process accompanied by changes in extracellular matrix synthesis and remodeling, performed mainly by the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP). The temporal/spatial expression patterns of 5 members of the MMP family known to be important for endochondral ossification were studied, for the first time, in the turkey growth plate during embryonic and juvenile stages. The expression of MMP-2 was detected in the proliferative zone, MMP-3, MMP-9, and MMP-13 in cells lining the blood vessels; MMP-13 was also detected in hypertrophic chondrocytes. The MMP-16 expression was detected in the reserve zone of the growth plate. These results present a detailed survey of turkey MMP, serving as a data source (atlas) for further studies in this subject. © 2007 American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved.