Figure 7.

Effects of chitosan nanofiber scaffolds on levels of the transcriptional factor, Runx2, in bone defects.

Notes: Bone defects were created in the proximal femurs of male C57LB/L mice, and chitosan nanofibers were implanted into one defect for 21 days. Only one defect was created in each proximal femur of an animal. After that period, animals were sacrificed, and the femurs were collected for an immunohistological analysis of Runx2. After removing the muscle and connective tissues, the femurs were decalcified, fixed, embedded in paraffin, and then sliced. Levels of Runx2 were immunodetected by confocal microscopy (A). The fluorescent signals were quantified and statistically analyzed (B). Each value represents the mean ± SEM for n=9. *Indicates that values significantly differed from the respective control, P<0.05.

Abbreviations: Runx2, Runt-related transcription factor 2; SEM, standard error of mean.