Figure 4
Oral NAC administration inhibits osteoarthritis development on the sham-operated side. Osteoarthritis or sham surgery was performed in the left or right knee joints, respectively, in 12-week-old wild-type male Wistar rats, and rats were maintained with or without NAC water (5.0 g/l) for eight weeks thereafter. Then, right knee joint sections (femur and tibia) were prepared and stained with Safranin O (a) and the mean total Mankin score was assessed (b). Data shows the mean Mankin score ± SD (n = 3 each, *P < 0.05). Bar, 100 μm. (c,d) The right knee sections were also stained with mouse anti 8-OHdG (c) or rabbit anti-rat MMP13 (d), followed by Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG or Alexa Fluor 546-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG, respectively. Nuclei were visualized by DAPI. Specimens were also stained with TUNEL (e), and observed under a fluorescence microscope. Intact right knee joint sections of 20-week-old wild-type male Wister rat maintained with normal water was also prepared and stained with Safranin O, 8OHdG, MMP-13, TUNEL to compare with the sham surgery performed samples (a-e). White dotted lines indicate joint surfaces of the femur and tibia. Bar, 20 μm.
