Regulation of Tcf7 by Runx2 in chondrocyte maturation and proliferation.

Runx2 plays important roles in the regulation of chondrocyte differentiation and proliferation; however, the Runx2 target molecules still remain to be investigated. We searched the genes upregulated by the introduction of Runx2 into Runx2(-/-) chondrocytes using microarray and found that Tcf7 is upregulated by Runx2. Thus, we examined the functions of Runx2 in the regulation of the Tcf/Lef family of transcription factors.