Fig. 2.

Postnatal chondrocyte-specific deletion of Tak1 results in growth retardation, growth plate disorganization and reduced proteoglycan content in the articular cartilage. (A) Radiographic analyses of 1-month-old Col2a1-CreER^T2; Tak1^f/f (Cre⁺; Tak1^f/f) mice and Cre-negative control littermates (Tak1^f/f) following injection with tamoxifen at 1 week of age. Anterior-posterior (top panels) and lateral (bottom panels) radiographic images are shown. (B) Alcian Blue, Hematoxylin and Orange G staining of knee joint sections from 1-month-old Col2a1-CreER^T2; Tak1^f/f (Cre⁺; Tak1^f/f) mice and Cre-negative control littermates (Tak1^f/f) injected with tamoxifen at 1 week of age (original magnification: 5×). (C) High magnification images (20×) of the articular cartilage (upper panels) or growth plate cartilage (lower panels) from corresponding boxed regions in B.