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The present study was designed to investigate how rat hyaline cartilagesat various sites in vivo express the gene and protein of type I collagen using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. The gene of pro alpha1(I) collagen was expressed by chondrocytes in articular cartilage, and theprotein of type I collagen was identified in the cartilage matrix. In contrast,growth plate cartilage expressed the gene of pro alpha 1(I) collagen, butno protein of type I collagen. Neither gene nor protein of type I collagenwas expressed in cartilages of trachea and nasal septum. The present studysuggested that expression of type I collagen in hyaline cartilages may beregulated tissue-specifically at gene and/or protein levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]