Fig. 1.

Characterization of the degeneration reporter strain. (A) Schematic of the breeding strategy used to obtain mice with the tg-HSA^CreER transgene with the luciferase gene flanked by loxP sites. In the tg-HSA^CreER/Rosa26^LuSEAP/wt progeny, the STOP sequence is deleted following tamoxifen injection and luciferase expression is observed in the reporter mice. (B) Scheme of tamoxifen injection and sample analysis. (C) BLI images of representative wild-type mice 7 d after an acute injury and control uninjured hindlimb. The scale bar to the Right of the image represents the photon emissions from the tissue surface. (D) Luciferase expression of degeneration reporter mice monitored over 3 wk. Bioluminescence values are indicated as radiance (p·cm⁻²·s⁻¹). Data represent the mean ± SEM; n = 3.