NPY expression and action in bone tissue.

<p>(a) Analysis of NPY expression by <i>in situ</i> hybridisation in wild type mice shows specific staining of osteoblasts employing a NPY antisense probe in cancellous and cortical bone (arrows) and megakaryocytes (arrowheads). (b) This staining is absent in <i>NPY ^−/−</i> mice. (c) Levels of ALP, Runx2 and Osterix are greater in <i>NPY ^−/−</i> mice compared to wild type as determined by quantitative real-time PCR on mRNA from long bones. (mean±SE. n = 5−6 mice per genotype.). (d) Bone marrow stromal cells isolated from <i>NPY ^−/−</i> mice produce more mineral <i>in vitro</i> than wild type mice. (mean±SE, n = 10−15 wells per time, 3 independent experiments). # p<0.05, ## p<0.01 vs wild type, scale bar represents 50 µm.