Differential aging of growth plate cartilage underlies differences in bone length and thus helps determine skeletal proportions.

Bones at different anatomical locations vary dramatically in size. For example, human femurs are 20-fold longer than the phalanges in the fingers and toes. The mechanisms responsible for these size differences are poorly understood. Bone elongation occurs at the growth plates and advances rapidly in...

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Main Authors: Julian C Lui, Youn Hee Jee, Presley Garrison, James R Iben, Shanna Yue, Michal Ad, Quang Nguyen, Bijal Kikani, Yoshiyuki Wakabayashi, Jeffrey Baron
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-07-01
Series:PLoS Biology
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2005263&type=printable
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author Julian C Lui
Youn Hee Jee
Presley Garrison
James R Iben
Shanna Yue
Michal Ad
Quang Nguyen
Bijal Kikani
Yoshiyuki Wakabayashi
Jeffrey Baron
author_facet Julian C Lui
Youn Hee Jee
Presley Garrison
James R Iben
Shanna Yue
Michal Ad
Quang Nguyen
Bijal Kikani
Yoshiyuki Wakabayashi
Jeffrey Baron
author_sort Julian C Lui
collection DOAJ
description Bones at different anatomical locations vary dramatically in size. For example, human femurs are 20-fold longer than the phalanges in the fingers and toes. The mechanisms responsible for these size differences are poorly understood. Bone elongation occurs at the growth plates and advances rapidly in early life but then progressively slows due to a developmental program termed "growth plate senescence." This developmental program includes declines in cell proliferation and hypertrophy, depletion of cells in all growth plate zones, and extensive underlying changes in the expression of growth-regulating genes. Here, we show evidence that these functional, structural, and molecular senescent changes occur earlier in the growth plates of smaller bones (metacarpals, phalanges) than in the growth plates of larger bones (femurs, tibias) and that this differential aging contributes to the disparities in bone length. We also show evidence that the molecular mechanisms that underlie the differential aging between different bones involve modulation of critical paracrine regulatory pathways, including insulin-like growth factor (Igf), bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp), and Wingless and Int-1 (Wnt) signaling. Taken together, the findings reveal that the striking disparities in the lengths of different bones, which characterize normal mammalian skeletal proportions, is achieved in part by modulating the progression of growth plate senescence.
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spelling doaj-art-5c6aa04e995a44a1aedfff68841de73b2025-08-20T02:54:49ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852018-07-01167e200526310.1371/journal.pbio.2005263Differential aging of growth plate cartilage underlies differences in bone length and thus helps determine skeletal proportions.Julian C LuiYoun Hee JeePresley GarrisonJames R IbenShanna YueMichal AdQuang NguyenBijal KikaniYoshiyuki WakabayashiJeffrey BaronBones at different anatomical locations vary dramatically in size. For example, human femurs are 20-fold longer than the phalanges in the fingers and toes. The mechanisms responsible for these size differences are poorly understood. Bone elongation occurs at the growth plates and advances rapidly in early life but then progressively slows due to a developmental program termed "growth plate senescence." This developmental program includes declines in cell proliferation and hypertrophy, depletion of cells in all growth plate zones, and extensive underlying changes in the expression of growth-regulating genes. Here, we show evidence that these functional, structural, and molecular senescent changes occur earlier in the growth plates of smaller bones (metacarpals, phalanges) than in the growth plates of larger bones (femurs, tibias) and that this differential aging contributes to the disparities in bone length. We also show evidence that the molecular mechanisms that underlie the differential aging between different bones involve modulation of critical paracrine regulatory pathways, including insulin-like growth factor (Igf), bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp), and Wingless and Int-1 (Wnt) signaling. Taken together, the findings reveal that the striking disparities in the lengths of different bones, which characterize normal mammalian skeletal proportions, is achieved in part by modulating the progression of growth plate senescence.https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2005263&type=printable
spellingShingle Julian C Lui
Youn Hee Jee
Presley Garrison
James R Iben
Shanna Yue
Michal Ad
Quang Nguyen
Bijal Kikani
Yoshiyuki Wakabayashi
Jeffrey Baron
Differential aging of growth plate cartilage underlies differences in bone length and thus helps determine skeletal proportions.
PLoS Biology
title Differential aging of growth plate cartilage underlies differences in bone length and thus helps determine skeletal proportions.
title_full Differential aging of growth plate cartilage underlies differences in bone length and thus helps determine skeletal proportions.
title_fullStr Differential aging of growth plate cartilage underlies differences in bone length and thus helps determine skeletal proportions.
title_full_unstemmed Differential aging of growth plate cartilage underlies differences in bone length and thus helps determine skeletal proportions.
title_short Differential aging of growth plate cartilage underlies differences in bone length and thus helps determine skeletal proportions.
title_sort differential aging of growth plate cartilage underlies differences in bone length and thus helps determine skeletal proportions
url https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2005263&type=printable
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