Impact of growth plate senescence on catch-up growth and epiphyseal fusion.
In mammals, longitudinal bone growth occurs rapidly in prenatal and early postnatal life, but then slows and eventually ceases. This deceleration, which reflects a decline in chondrocyte proliferation, was previously attributed to a hormonal or other systemic mechanism. However, new evidence suggests that it is due to a local mechanism within the growth plate. In particular, recent findings suggest that growth plate chondrocytes have a finite proliferative capacity that is gradually exhausted, causing growth to slow and finally stop. This concept has provided insight into clinical phenomena including catch-up growth after transient growth inhibition, catch-down growth after transient estrogen exposure, and epiphyseal fusion.
Nilsson
Ola
O
Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. ola.nilsson@nih.gov
Baron
Jeffrey
J
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division; D002648:Child; D006128:Growth / Q000502:physiology; D006132:Growth Plate / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans
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