Fig. 5.

Typical Ca²⁺ traces for two representative osteocytes before and after the onset of mechanical loading in live bone (Left) and at 15 min (Center) and 60 min (Right) postmortem. Osteocyte Ca²⁺ signal amplitude acutely after death was markedly attenuated compared with in vivo, although the Ca²⁺ signaling still tracked the applied loading frequency. In contrast, at 60 min postmortem, the response of osteocytes to loading was low and irregular, with Ca²⁺ signaling no longer consistent with the applied loading frequency. n = 3 per group.