Figure 4.

Oral gavage with ASTX restores hyperglycemia-associated imbalanced activation between osteoclasts and osteoblasts in STZ-induced diabetic mice. (A) TRAP staining showing osteoclast formation in the interproximal region of maxillary molars (M1 to M3) at 60 days post-hyperglycemia induction (200× magnification). Bar = 100 μm. The red arrows indicate TRAP-positive osteoclasts. (B) Area of the TRAP-positive cells (mm²) was determined using ImageJ program (n = 6). (C) IHC staining exhibiting the expression level of RANKL at the region of upper molars (200× magnification). Bar = 100 μm. (D) The level of RANKL in blood serum of mice groups was determined by ELISA 60 days after hyperglycemia induction (n = 6). Levels of (E) RUNX2 and (F) osterix in the maxilla were also evaluated by IHC at the same time (200× magnification). Bar = 100 μm. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001 vs. control group; ^# p < 0.05 and ^## p < 0.01 vs. STZ group.