FIGURE 4.

Distribution of CILP-1 and CILP-2 mRNA and protein expression in meniscal cartilage. Bright field images of in situ hybridization for Cilp1 (A) and Cilp2 (C) mRNA expression in adult mouse meniscal cartilage shows mRNA expression in the surface zones. No hybridization with the sense probe was detected (data not shown). Meniscal cartilage was also probed with antibodies against CILP-1 (B) or CILP-2 (D). Both CILP-1 and CILP-2 protein were strongly present in the fibrocartilage matrix of the meniscus in 8-week-old mice. CILP-1 had a pericellular localization in the center of the meniscus (B), and CILP-2 was apparent not only in the center of the tissue, but toward the outer zones of the meniscus (C). No staining was observed with the preimmune sera (E). Scale bar, 50 μm.