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Figure 2

From: Aberrant spinal mechanical loading stress triggers intervertebral disc degeneration by inducing pyroptosis and nerve ingrowth

Figure 2

Aberrant mechanical stress disruptes the morphology of the intervertebral disc and activates Ccn2 expression. (a) Representative Safranin O staining images of the IVD sections showing the changes of IVD cells in Sham and LSI mice at 1-, 2-, 4- and 8-W post-surgery. Black arrows indicate tearing in AF. Black arrow heads indicate ectopic bone formation in EP. (b) Evaluation of IVD degeneration by NP, AF and EP score. (c) Immunofluorescence staining for Ccn2 expression (green) at 4-W post-surgery. DAPI stains nuclei blue. White arrows indicate high expression of Ccn2 in the ectopic bone formation zone of EP. White arrowheads indicate high expression of Ccn2 in NP tissues. (d) Quantification of Ccn2-positive cells in IVD of (c). The averages of integrated optical density in interest region was calculated by Image-Pro Plus software version 6.0 (https://www.mediacy.com). Data are shown as mean ± sem. Three independent experiments performed in triplicate. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 compared to Sham group.

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