Developmental regulation of the growth plate.
Vertebrates do not look like jellyfish because the bones of their skeletons are levers that allow movement and protect vital organs. Bones come in an enormous variety of shapes and sizes to accomplish these goals, but, with few exceptions, use one process--endochondral bone formation--to generate the skeleton. The past few years have seen an enormous increase in understanding of the signalling pathways and the transcription factors that control endochondral bone development.
Kronenberg
Henry M
HM
Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114-2696, USA. kronenberg.henry@mgh.harvard.edu
D000818:Animals; D001846:Bone Development / Q000187:drug effects; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology; D006132:Growth Plate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*
D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors