In situ hybridization to show sequential expression of osteoblast gene markers during bone formation in vivo

Abstract

We investigated the sequence of expression of osteoblast gene markers during bone formation in vivo by in situ hybridization. Cylindrical lesions were induced in the femora of sheep with titanium analytic bone implants that allow removal of serial core samples to study bone formation. At 2 weeks (2W), granulation tissue made up of spindle‐shaped cells had partially replaced the blood clot. Islands of osseous tissue, first noted in the periphery of the ingrowing tissue at 3W, became the predominant tissue by 6W. The surfaces of newly forming bone at 3W were apposed by cuboidal cells, which in some areas were several layers thick. By 6W, most of the cells lining bone trabeculae had assumed a f..