“…At the cellular level, the best characterized defect in VLK null animals is in the differentiation of chondrocytes in long bones (Imuta et al, 2009; Kinoshita et al, 2009; Probst et al, 2013). Our studies identify a variety of VLK substrates with established roles in skeletal development, including Type I collagen (Prockop, 1985), MMP13 (Stickens et al, 2004), MIA3 (an essential collagen chaperone) (Wilson et al, 2011), and MESD (a chaperone for the wnt receptor LRP5/6) (Hsieh et al, 2003; Zhang et al, 2004). At this point, it is not possible to assess whether the VLK null phenotype reflects a major functional alteration in one or two key substrates, or more subtle changes in a broad set of functionally interacting substrates that collectively impact chondrocyte differentiation.…”