Figure 8
Protein Deposition. (a) SHG images examining type 1 collagen deposition in the control and stimulation groups on days 2, 5, 10, 15, and 20. Scale bar is 47.63 um. (b) Quantitative assessment of collagen deposition graphed as collagen density vs. time. Quantitative assessment of collagen deposition is graphed as collagen density vs. time. Collagen density is quantified as the area positive for collagen SHG signal per square micrometer. Collagen fiber is determined as the average fluorescence intensity per pixel from the second harmonic generation images (n = 3). Area (in square micrometers) per pixel is determined by dividing image length and height by total number of pixels in our image. Therefore, collagen density is equal to collagen fiber per pixel divided by the area per pixel. Statistical differences between time points are marked by a red brace (p < 0.05) and a red asterisk (p < 0.005) for the control group or a blue brace (p < 0.05) or a blue askterisk (p < 0.005) for the stimulation group.