Histology results demonstrating articular cartilage lesions over the time course.

<p>Sections from DMM joints obtained 2 weeks (A), 4 weeks (B), 8 weeks (C), and 16 weeks (D) after DMM surgery were stained with safranin-O. Bar = 100 µm. Arrows indicate an early cartilage lesion in the medial tibial plateau at 4 weeks (B) and a more severe lesion at 8 weeks (C) on the medial tibial plateau (lower tissue in image) and the femoral condyle (upper tissue in image). Note advanced articular cartilage loss at 16 weeks. Articular cartilage structure scores (E) and safranin-O scores (F) for the medial tibial plateaus and articular cartilage structure scores for the lateral tibial plateau (G) are shown for the DMM, sham, and contralateral control groups as indicated. *p<0.05 vs sham and control; ??p = 0.01 vs sham; **p<0.01 vs control; #p<0.05 vs control by ANOVA.