PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Chang, Wenhan AU - Tu, Chialing AU - Chen, Tsui-Hua AU - Bikle, Daniel AU - Shoback, Dolores TI - The Extracellular Calcium-Sensing Receptor (CaSR) Is a Critical Modulator of Skeletal Development AID - 10.1126/scisignal.1159945 DP - 2008 Sep 02 TA - Science Signaling PG - ra1--ra1 VI - 1 IP - 35 4099 - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/1/35/ra1.short 4100 - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/1/35/ra1.full SO - Sci. Signal.2008 Sep 02; 1 AB - The extracellular Ca2+-sensing receptor (CaSR) plays a nonredundant role in the functions of the parathyroid gland (PTG) and the kidney. Severe hyperparathyroidism, premature death, and incomplete gene excision in Casr−/− mice have precluded the assessment of CaSR function in other tissues. We generated mice with tissue-specific deletion of Casr in the PTG, bone, or cartilage. Deletion of Casr in the PTG or bone resulted in profound bone defects, whereas deletion of Casr in chondrocytes (cartilage-producing cells) resulted in death before embryonic day 13 (E13). Mice in which chondrocyte-specific deletion of Casr was induced between E16 and E18 were viable but showed delayed growth plate development. Our data show a critical role for the CaSR in early embryogenesis and skeletal development.