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. 2021 May 26;11:11005. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-90565-0

Figure 1.

Figure 1

DigiGait analysis of young, middle-aged and old WT and Fgf2KO mice. To assess whether knockout of the Fgf2 gene resulted in alteration in gait, treadmill exhaustion test ventral plane videography (DigiGait, Mouse Specifics, Inc., Quincy, MA) was performed. (a–c) DigiGait related images. (a) Lateral view of the mouse containment area around the treadmill belt. (b) Representative image of mouse from the camera position below the transparent treadmill belt. The blue area is added during video analysis to nullify any background generated by the nose. (c) Representative image from the DigiGait software displaying the remaining pixels representing paw contact with the belt utilized for gait analysis. Gait analysis of young (2 months), middle-aged (12 months) and old (19 months) WT and Fgf2KO mice showed: (d) Stride length was significantly shorter in old Fgf2KO compared to old WT and middle-aged Fgf2KO. Middle-aged Fgf2KO was also significantly shorter than middle-aged WT. (e) Stride duration was significantly shorter in middle-aged Fgf2KO compared to middle-aged WT as well as in old Fgf2KO compared to old WT. (f) Stride frequency significantly was higher in old Fgf2KO compared to old WT and middle-aged Fgf2KO. Middle-aged Fgf2KO also showed significantly increased stride frequency compared to WT of the same age. (g) Stride variability (coefficient of variation) was higher in old WT compared to middle-aged WT as well as old Fgf2KO compared with middle-aged Fgf2KO. (h) Hindlimb propulsion was significantly shorter in old Fgf2KO versus old WT and middle-aged Fgf2KO. (i) Forelimb stance width was significantly narrower in old Fgf2KO versus old WT. (j) Hindlimb stance width was significantly narrower in old Fgf2KO versus old WT. (k) Forelimb paw angle eversion was similar in young and middle-aged WT and Fgf2KO mice and was increased in aged vs. middle-aged in both WT and Fgf2KO mice. (l) Hind paw eversion (an indicator of muscle weakness) was similar in young and middle-aged WT and Fgf2KO mice, but significantly greater in old Fgf2KO mice compared with old WT and middle-aged Fgf2KO. n = 6–10 mice per group, *Fgf2KO significantly different from WT of same age, #19 months WT significantly different from 12 months WT, @19 months Fgf2KO significantly different from 12 months Fgf2KO.