Fig. 2: Effects of different durations of chronic subordinate colony housing (CSC) on bone homeostasis in wild-type (WT) mice.

a Experimental timeline for WT mice exposed to 7 d of single-housed control (SHC) conditions or CSC (partly created with BioRender.com). Mice were single-housed for one week before the start of the CSC paradigm on Day 1 and euthanized on Day 8 of CSC (=7 d CSC exposure). b Trabecular thickness, c trabecular number, d trabecular tissue mineral density (Tb. TMD), e trabecular separation, f cortical TMD, g growth plate thickness, h cortical thickness, i bone volume/tissue volume (BV/TV), j femur length, k tibia length and l representative images of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunofluorescent staining (scale bar: 100 µm) in the bone marrow (BM) of unfractured femora in WT mice euthanized on Day 8 of SHC/CSC. n = 7–8. m Experimental timeline for WT mice exposed to 19 d of SHC/CSC conditions (partly created with BioRender.com). Mice were single-housed for one week before the start of the CSC paradigm on Day 1. The aggressor mouse was changed on Days 8 and 15 and the experimental mice were euthanized on Day 20. Number of BM n TH⁺Ly6G⁺ cells, o TH⁺CD8⁺ cells, p TH⁺CD4⁺ cells, and q TH⁺F4/80⁺ cells assessed using flow cytometry in WT mice euthanized on Day 20 of SHC/CSC exposure. n = 7–8. r Experimental timeline for WT mice exposed to 19 d of SHC/CSCconditions followed by 21 d of single housing (SH) (partly created with BioRender.com). Mice were single-housed for one week before the start of the CSC paradigm on Day 1. The aggressor mouse was changed on Days 8 and 15, and on Day 20 all experimental mice were single-housed for 21 consecutive days before being euthanized on Day 22 of SH. s Trabecular thickness, t trabecular number, u Tb. TMD, v trabecular separation, w BV/TV, x growth plate thickness, y femur length in WT mice exposed to 19 d of SHC/CSC + 21 d SH. n = 6–8. Data are presented as mean + SEM including individual values. *P ≤ 0.05, **P ≤ 0.01, ***P ≤ 0.001 versus SHC condition. n.s. not significant. Source data, exact n-numbers, exact p values and used statistical tests per panel are provided in the Source Data file.