Fig. 2

Intra-articular injections of HGP-CK2.1 induces articular cartilage repair in DMM mice. Mice were injected intra-articularly with PBS or HGP-CK2.1 (6 μM) or HGP 6 weeks post-DMM surgery (n = 6/group) and were compared to sham-operated mice. Sample sections were stained using Safranin O (red) and fast green (turquoise), and scoring was performed in four compartments of the knee using a modified semiquantitative scoring scale [19]. Mice injected with HGP-CK2.1 showed the greatest cartilage repair compared to the sham-operated group. Arrows indicate the area of cartilage damage. Scale bars = 50 μm. Error bars represent SEM; **p < 0.01. F femur, HGP hydrogel particle, M meniscus, PBS phosphate-buffered saline, SHAM sham-operated, T tibia