Deficiency of Cartilage-Specific Gene Matrilin-1 Increases Angiogenesis and Bone Formation During Fracture Healing As Revealed by In Vivo Imaging and Micro-CT analysis

Healing As Revealed by In Vivo Imaging and Micro-CT analysis Li, X; Moore, D, Zhou FH; Robbins A; +Chen,Q +Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China [email protected],[email protected] INTRODUCTION: Matrilin-1(MATN1) is a cartilage specific, non-collagenous extracellular matrix protein produced by pre-hypertrophic chondrocytes in the maturation zone of the growth plate, which is critical for the transition from cartilage to bone during endochondral ossification. MATN1 is associated with collagen type II fibrils and proteoglycans, and forms collagen-independent and collagen-dependent filamentous networks in cartilage (). MATN1 knock-out mice present abnormal collagen fibrils in cartilage matrix, but are otherwise normal during skeletal development. In this study, we determined whether MATN1 plays a role in fracture healing using in vivo imaging to quantify different biological processes including angiogenesis and bone formation during fracture healing of MATN1 KO mice.