Calvarial Characterization of Dicer-Deficient under Sost Promotor Mouse Model

This study aims to evaluate the roles of mature miRNAs in osteocytes of calvarial bones. The skulls of transgenic Dicer deficiency driven under Sost (Dicer/Sost KO) mice were compared to the age and sex-matched control mice (Dicer floxed and Sostcre). We speculate that mature microRNAs play critical roles in osteocytes during calvarial bone formation. Methods: Mouse skulls of each genotype (n=8 per genotype: Sost-cre, Dicer floxed, Dicer/Sost KO) were subjected to microcomputed tomography (microCT), histomorphological analysis, and skull variation analysis to evaluate macro and microanatomical phenotypes. Statistical analysis was performed at a significance level of 0.05. The preliminary results demonstrated the differences in gross phenotypes between the transgenic Dicer deficient mice and their controls.