Collagen XXVII Function in Growth Plate Figure 5. Tibial growth plate analyses from Col27del87 mice. A. The growth plate of the developing tibia of M D87/M D87 E14.5 embryos (C) appeared normal when compared to the WT/WT(A) and WT/M D87 littermates (B). The proliferative zone (see insets) of M D87/M D87 E16.5 and E18.5 embryos (F and I, respectively) appeared highly disorganised when compared to the WT/WT (D and G, respectively) and WT/M D87 littermates (E and H, respectively). Scale bar = 100 mm. B. Immunolocalisation of collagen XXVII, collagen II and collagen X in E18.5 tibial growth plates. The staining for collagen XXVII in the proliferative zone of M D87/M D87 embryos (K) was reduced and the chondrocytes lacked a translucent pericellular zone compared to the WT/WT controls (J). The distribution of collagens II and X were similar in the control and mutant growth plates (L–O). Scale bar = 100 mm. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0029422.g005 PLoS ONE | www.plosone.org 7 December 2011 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | e29422