Fig. 3

Effect of harpagoside (HAR) on bone erosion, bone destruction, and TRAP formation in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice. A Mice were sacrificed on day 42 after the first immunization, and radiographs of the confocal and transverse planes of proximal femur were obtained from micro-CT apparatus. B Micro-CT images of specific regions of the trabecular bone for the assessment of various bone parameters. C The bone volume per tissue volume (BV/TV), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), trabecular thickness (Tb,Th), and trabecular number (Tb.N) of femur were determined using the micro-CT data and analyzed by INFINITT-Xelis Software. After micro-CT scans, dissected femurs were fixed, decalcified, embedded, and sectioned. Sections were stained with (D) hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) (left) and TRAP (right). Scale bar, 100 μm. E The number of osteoclasts per field was counted using the histomorphometric methods. ^**p < 0.01 and ^***p < 0.001 versus the normal group; ^#p < 0.05, ^##p < 0.01, and ^###p < 0.001 versus the CIA + PBS group