Collagen XXIV (Col24α1) Promotes Osteoblastic Differentiation and Miner- alization through TGF-β/Smads Signaling Pathway

licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Reproduction is permitted for personal, noncommercial use, provided that the article is in whole, unmodified, and properly cited. Received: 2012.08.31; Accepted: 2012.10.01; Published: 2012.10.25 Collagen XXIV (Col24α1) is a recently discovered fibrillar collagen. It is known that mouse Col24α1 is predominantly expressed in the forming skeleton of the mouse embryo, as well as in the trabecular bone and periosteum of the newborn mouse. However, the role and mechanism of Col24α1 in osteoblast differentiation and mineralization remains unclear. By analyzing the expression pattern of Col24α1, we confirmed that it is primarily expressed in bone tissues, and this expression gradually increased concomitant with the progression of osteoblast differentiation. Through the use of a lentivirus vector–mediated interference system, silencing Col24α1 expression in MC3T3-E1 murine preosteoblastic cells resulted i