IHC staining and analysis of types I, II, and III collagen and RAGE in the four age groups. (A) The IHC staining of types I, II, and III collagen and RAGE in the newborn (N), young (Y), adult (A), and old (O) groups (T: tendon; C: cartilage; B: bone; scale bar: 50μm). (B) Average optical density (AOD) of type I collagen. (C) AOD of type II collagen. (D) AOD of type III collagen. (E) AOD of RAGE. (n = 6, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001)