Fig. 4

The BRT-O scaffold promoted bone regeneration in the onlay grafting model of rabbit cranium. (A) Images of the surgical procedure, and specimens of the different groups at six and 16 weeks after surgery. (B) Representative micro-CT images of different groups at six and 16 weeks, post-surgery. Representative images for the (C) H&E and (D) toluidine blue staining of samples collected at six and 16 weeks, post-surgery (A, auto graft; S, scaffold; ^*, new bone; OB, old bone). (E) Immunohistochemical staining for RUNX2 and macrophage polarization pan marker CD68, M1 marker iNOS, and M2 marker CD206 in the onlay grafting area. Quantitative results for (F) BV/TV and (G) BMD by micro-CT. (H) Quantitative results for the new bone (%) in the scaffold area. (I) Quantification of positively stained cells. The data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD) (n = 3). Ns, no significance; ^**p < 0.01 vs. the control group; ^***p < 0.001 vs. the control group; ^#p < 0.05 vs. the BRT-R group; ^###p < 0.01 vs. the BRT-R group. Scale bars: B, 1 mm; E, 500 μm and 200 μm; F, 300 μm and 200 μm; H, 500 μm