Zip14^fl/-; Runx2-Cre mice have a severe cortical and trabecular long bone phenotype, whereas Zip14^fl/-; CtsK-Cre mice do not.

(A) 3D reconstruction of whole femora (top) and a vertical section of cortical (middle) and trabecular bone (bottom) of Zip14^fl/- controls, Zip14^fl/-; Runx2-Cre and Zip14^fl/-; CtsK-Cre mice. Femora of Zip14^fl/-; Runx2-Cre mice show an increased cortical thickness and decreased midshaft diameter along with a decreased trabecular bone mass. (B) μCT analysis of cortical (Ct) bone parameters confirms a significantly increased cortical thickness (Ct.Th) and decreased midshaft diameter (Ms.D) of Zip14^fl/-; Runx2-Cre mice. Both Zip14^fl/-; Runx2-Cre and Zip14^fl/-; CtsK-Cre mice have a decreased cortical porosity (Ct.Po). (C) μCT analysis of trabecular (Tb) bone parameters confirms a significantly decreased trabecular bone volume (BV/TV), number (Tb.N), connecting density (Conn.D) and increased separation (Tb.Sp) in Zip14^fl/-; Runx2-Cre mice. N = 6 animals/genotype; *: p<0.05; **: p<0.025 by 2-tailed Student’s t-test (compared to Zip14^fl/- mice).