Fig. 3

Determination of osteolytic lesions on knee joints in OA mice by radiography. On the 28th day before sacrifice, the mouse was placed in a lying position with the legs spread out in order to quantify subchondral bone thickening associated with post-traumatic OA by X-ray evaluation of the knee joints. The saline-treated group (ACLT, b) presented with osteolytic lesions and evidence of prominent bone formation extending into the soft tissue when compared with the vehicle control (sham, a). The architecture of both femur and tibia were relatively well preserved. Radiographs from the mice treated with GE-P (100 mg/kg/day, d), GE-P (300 mg/kg/day, e), GE-L (100 mg/kg/day, f), GE-L (300 mg/kg/day, g), and celecoxib (10 mg/kg/day, c) presented with areas of minimal subchondral thickness when compared with those in the saline group. The arrow denotes an area of increased subchondral bone thickness or prominent bone formation on the femur/tibia