Fig. 1.

Targeting Bmal1 for deletion in joint mesenchymal cells. a The basic helix-loop-helix–encoding exon of Bmal1 was targeted for deletion in cells expressing Col6a1. b Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) were cultured from mouse hind limbs to passage 3, and assessed by flow cytometry for the absence of leukocytes (CD45⁻) and presence of the FLS marker CD90.2. CD90.2⁺ cells were then selected for further culture. c qPCR confirmed significant reduction in Bmal1 transcript in targeted cells (n = 3; unpaired t test), which corresponded with (d) loss of BMAL1 protein