... cartilage that expressed chondrocyte hypertrophy markers and readily underwent mineralization after ectopic transplantation. In contrast, the slowly growing GDF5 + cells derived from SOX9 + cells formed cartilage that tended to express low to undetectable levels of chondrocyte hypertrophy markers...

... development, yet the underlying mechanism has remained elusive. We show that a unique composition of blood vessels facilitates the role of the endothelium in bone mineralization and morphogenesis. Immunostaining and electron microscopy showed that the endothelium in developing bones lacks basement membrane...

... shape to the ability of bones to withstand these loads, we monitored structural and mineral changes during development. Using daily micro-CT scans of appendicular long bones we identify a developmental program, which we term preferential bone growth, that determines the specific circumferential shape...