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. 2020 Mar 4;10(9):3925–3938. doi: 10.7150/thno.41378

Figure 1.

Figure 1

IL-23 plays an essential role in inflammation-mediated inhibition of bone regeneration. (A) BMMSCs mixed with β-TCP were implanted into the dorsal surface of WT and nude mice for 8 weeks. A substantial amount of bone was formed in nude mice, as detected by H&E staining. n = 4-5 per group. Scale bar, 50 µm. (B, C) IL-12p40 expression levels in implants after 7 days of implantation. Representative images (B) and quantification (C) of immunohistochemical staining of IL-12p40. n = 4-5 per group. Scale bar, 50 µm. (D) BMMSCs mixed with β-TCP plus IL-12 and IL-23 or no cytokine were implanted into the dorsal surface of WT and IL-12p40-/- mice. New bone formation was detected with H&E staining. n = 4-5 per group. Scale bar, 50 µm. (E-G) Bone histomorphometric measurements among each group, including (E) osteoblast number (N.Ob), (F) osteoblast number per bone surface (N.Ob/BS), and (G) osteocyte number (N.Ot). (H) Representative images and quantification of ectopic bone formation in WT, IL-12p35-/-, and IL-12p40-/- mice. n = 4-5 per group. Scale bar, 50 µm. (I-K) Bone histomorphometric measurements, including (I) N.Ob, (J) N.Ob/BS, and (K) N.Ot. (L) Osteocalcin (OCN) expression was increased in IL-12p40-/- mice. Representative images and quantification of immunohistochemical staining of OCN were shown in WT, IL-12p35-/-, and IL-12p40-/- mice. n = 4-5 per group. Scale bar, 50 µm. B, bone; CT, connective tissue; WT, wild-type. Results are shown as mean ± S.D. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.