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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Oct 11.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2007 Mar;8(3):221–233. doi: 10.1038/nrm2125

Figure 3. Skeletal phenotypes of MMP mutants.

Figure 3

a | Long bones in mice and humans develop through the process of endochondral ossification, in which a cartilage template forms first and then is resorbed and replaced by mineralized bone. This process requires extensive matrix remodelling and invasion of new blood vessels. The schematic is adapted from REF. 150 © (2000) Elsevier, and REF. 151 © (1999) Macmillan Magazines Ltd. b | Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (Mmp9)- and Mmp13-null femurs display greatly expanded hypertrophic cartilage zones (HC; red line) and altered trabecular bone (TB; blue line). Despite this expansion, Mmp9- and Mmp13-null phenotypes eventually resolve, resulting in good bone formation. The Mmp9 Mmp13 double mutant has an even greater expansion of hypertrophic cartilage, and significantly and persistently shorter long bones. Images courtesy of D. Stickens, D. Behonick and N. Ortega, University of California, San Francisco, USA.

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