Fig. 6

Bleomycin induces degenerated disc fibrosis without height loss in rats. All rats were punctured at Co7/8, Co8/9, and Co9/10, then after 2 weeks, Co8/9 and Co9/10 were rescued by bleomycin in a concentration of 5 and 10 μg/ml. a X-ray tests of rats at a prone posture, and then the pictures were cropped focused on the area of operation. b MRI tests of rats at a supine posture and the T2 signal pictures were chosen. c The tails for operation (Co6/7, Co7/8, Co8/9, and Co9/10) were dissected and used to make paraffin section with subsequent Safranin O-Fast Green stain and Sirius Red stain. d Proportion quantification of the area represent the AF region, fibrosis NP region in Safranin O-Fast Green stain, Col1a1, Col3a1, and fibrosis NP region in Sirius Red stain using IPP6.0 and calculated by Graphpad8.0 with ordinary one-way ANOVA test. e Immunofluorescence assay of TGFβ, TGFβR1, FSP1, and Col1a1 in the fibrosis NP region and AF region described in c. f, g Atomic force microscopic of the fibrosis AF region in the paraffin section and Quantification of Young’s modulus using the XEI of Park System. All data are presented as mean ± sd. from three experiments. *P < 0.05, **P < <0.01, ***P < 0.001, and ****P < 0.0001