Fig. 5.

Runx2 null dorsal skin is thinner than wild-type skin. (A) Qualitative comparison of wild-type and Runx2 null embryos at E18.5. The differences are not always so obvious as shown in these littermates. There is considerable variation between animals of the same genotype within litters, between one section and another in the same animal and between areas in a given section. (B) Quantitative comparison shows that both overall skin and inter-follicular epidermal thickness of null embryos are significantly decreased compared with wild-type littermates. Mean values, variation and significance are based on measurements at 10 randomly determined points on each of 4 mid-sagittal sections such as shown here (total 40) for each animal (Materials and methods). *p<<0.0001. Error bars indicate ±1 standard deviation.