Figure 1. Histopathology with Alizarin red stain demonstrates that etidronate treatment prevents, but does not reverse, ectopic soft tissue mineralization in Abcc6^−/− mice.

The Abcc6^−/− mice develop ectopic mineralization of the dermal sheath of vibrissae prior to 12 weeks of age, and this process progresses to 24 weeks of age. Subcutaneous injection of etidronate at 0.01× and 0.12× doses during 4–12 weeks markedly reduced the degree of mineralization in the dermal sheath of vibrissae, when compared to age-matched Abcc6^−/− mice receiving saline injections (left 3 panels). Etidronate treatment from 12 to 24 weeks of age prevented further mineralization but did not reverse mineralization that had developed prior to 12 weeks of age (right 3 panels). ETD, etidronate; KO, knockout. Scale bar = 400 μm.