Paediatrics Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2012
Journal
Osteoarthritis and Cartilage
Volume
20
Issue
2
First Page
144
Last Page
151
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1016/j.joca.2011.11.014
Abstract
Objective: Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in the local regulation of bone metabolism. However, the contribution made by specific nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzymes to skeletal development is unclear. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of inactivation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) on cartilage development in mice. Design: Mice carrying a null mutation in the. nNOS gene were used to address our objectives. Histological staining, immunohistochemistry and. in situ analyses were employed along with real-time reverse transcriptase - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: nNOS-null mice show transient growth retardation and shorter long bones. nNOS-deficient growth plates show a reduction in replicating cells. Reduced chondrocyte numbers may in part be due to slower cell cycle progression and premature cell cycle exit caused by decreased cyclin D1 and increased p57 expression in mutants. In addition, apoptosis was increased as shown by increased cleaved-caspase 3 staining in hypertrophic chondrocytes in mutants. Real-time PCR demonstrated that expression of early chondrocyte markers such as Sox genes was reduced in mutant mice, while expression of prehypertrophic markers such as RORα was increased. Histological sections also demonstrated thinner cortical bone, fewer trabeculae and reduced mineralization in mutant mice. Conclusions: These data identify an important role of nNOS in chondrocyte proliferation and endochondral bone growth and demonstrate that nNOS coordinates cell cycle exit and chondrocyte differentiation in cartilage development. © 2011 Osteoarthritis Research Society International.