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. 2016 Apr 15;17(4):411. doi: 10.3390/ijms17040411

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Intra-articular cross-linked hyaluronic acid-dexamethasone (cHA-Dex) hydrogel injections increased the expression of proteoglycan in the microscopic appearance of osteoarthritis (OA) pathology. 6 µm thick histological sections of cartilage from the tibial plateau were stained with Safranin-O/Fast Green. A smoother surface and less blue fibrosis (a) was detected in the articular cartilage of the cHA-Dex gel injection animals comparing with the ACLT + saline and cHA only group; (b) OARSI histological grading score (mean ± SD) indicated that cartilage damage in the ACLT + saline group was the most severe of all the groups, while cartilage in the sham+saline group had the least damage. Cartilage damage was less in the cHA-Dex (0.2 mg/mL) and cHA-Dex (0.5 mg/mL) gel groups than in the ACLT + saline group. * represents that the difference was statistically significant, ** p < 0.01 and *** p < 0.001.n = 10.