Temporal variation of c‐fos proto‐oncogene expression during osteoblast differentiation and osteogenesis in developing rat bone

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Abstract
To delineate the implication of c-fos protooncogenic in the osteogenie process, we have investigated the temporal pattern of c-fos mRNA expression in fetal and neonatal rat bone during intramembranous and endochondral bone formation. Northern blot analysis of mRNA extracted from calvaria and femur showed that expression of c-fos, Histone H4, and osteocalcin mRNAs followed a temporal sequence during bone development. The levels of histone H4 mRNA, a marker of cell proliferation, were high at early stages of fetal development of calvaria and femur, and decreased until birth. In both the postnatal calvaria and femur, c-fos mRNA levels increased transiently at birth and preceded a rise in osteocalcin transcripts, a marker of the mature osteoblast phenotype. The immunohistochemical analysis showed that c-fos protein was expressed in osteoprogenitor cells in the perichondrium and periosteum, and not in mature osteoblasts which expressed markers of differentiated osteoblasts such as type-I collagen, bone sialoprotein, and osteocalcin. Thus, the transient c-fos proto-oncogene expression during the postnatal life that precedes the osteocalcin expression may be involved in the transition from the precursor state to mature osteoblasts. These results suggest that c-fos proto-oncogene may play an important role in osteogenesis during rat postnatal life.