μct100 high resolution cabinet cone beam micro ct scanner

On the day of sacrifice, knee tissue samples of mice were gathered from the above three groups and fixed above tissue samples in 4% paraformaldehyde for 48 h before scanning using a μCT100 high-resolution cabinet cone-beam micro-CT scanner (Scanco Medical Wangen-Brüttisellen, Switzerland). At an X-ray voltage of 70 kV, a current of 200 A, and an isometric resolution of 20 m, serial tomographic pictures were recorded. After decalcifying with 10% EDTA for three weeks and changing the 10% EDTA daily until decalcification was complete, all samples were subjected to dehydration, embedding, and coronal sectioning. Then, using Safranin O and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, cartilage degradation and subchondral bone loss were observed. The Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) standards were used to score cartilage deterioration (34 (link)). TRAP staining was performed to measure damage to the subchondral bone. Immunohistochemical analysis was carried out to evaluate p-p38 MAPK expression (purchased from Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA, USA).

The excised whole right knee joints from each experimental group were scanned using a μCT100 high‐resolution cabinet cone beam micro‐CT scanner (Scanco Medical). Serial tomographic images were acquired at X‐ray voltage of 70 kV, current of 200 μA and isometric resolution of 20 μm. The subchondral bone below the tibial plateau area was selected as region of interest for three‐dimensional reconstruction and morphometric analyses of bone structural parameters including total tissue volume (TV, mm³), bone volume to tissue volume ratio (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th, mm) and trabecular spacing (Tb.Sp, mm).