Figure 5.

Arthritis-induced bone destruction evaluated by micro-computerized tomography (μCT) and histopathology of control (ctrl), Complete Freund’s Adjuvant treated control (CFA) and arthritic B6 mice (CIA). (A) Representative three-dimensional reconstructions of hind paws and fragments of talus scanned by μCT. (B) Representative images of tibiotalar joint histology sections in sagittal plane stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE), Goldner-Masson trichrome (GMT), and histochemically stained for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) (magnification 100×); red arrows—areas of infiltration and pannus invasion; yellow arrows—subchondral bone plate; black arrows—areas with TRAP⁺ osteoclasts. (C) Talar bone volume analysis by μCT [total bone volume/total tissue volume, BV/TV (%)], histomorphometric analysis of distal tibia [subchondral and trabecular bone/total tissue volume, BV/TV (%)], subchondral plate thickness [subch. bone interlabel distance (µm)], and number of TRAP⁺ osteoclasts (Oc.N.) at endosteal surfaces of distal tibia (region of interest, ROI) of ctrl, CFA, and CIA mice. The experiments were repeated three times and data from a representative experiment are shown (n = 6–10 mice per group). Values are presented as medians (middle horizontal lines), boxes represent the interquartile range (IQR), whiskers represent 1.5 times the IQR, and outliers are represented by circles. Statistically significant difference was determined at p < 0.05, Kruskal–Wallis test (p-value marked on the graph) with Conover post-hoc test for group-to-group comparisons; line denotes significant difference between groups. (D) Representative images of tibiotalar joint sections histochemically stained for TRAP activity and immunohistochemically stained for CCL2 expression in ctrl and CIA mice (magnification 100×); selected area (in rectangle, magnification 200×); black arrows—areas with TRAP⁺ osteoclasts.