Fig. 6.

Immunohistochemical staining of the repair tissue at 2 weeks after surgery

Sagittal sections of full-thickness articular cartilage defects in the loading group (A, B) and unloading group (C, D). The articular cartilage defect is located in the center of the femur. The sections are immunohistochemically stained for type I collagen (A, C) and type II collagen (B, D). In the staining for type I collagen, there are tendencies toward smaller stained areas at 2 weeks than at 1 week and smaller stained areas in the unloading group than in the loading group. In the staining for type II collagen, the degree of apparent staining is greater in the loading group than in the unloading group. Scale bar = 500 µm.