Figure 2

Tibial vascular invasion in the hypertrophic chondrocyte zones is diminished in TD chickens. (a) Protocol of thiram treatment in AA chickens (n = 60 chicks/group). (b) Schematic diagram of vascular distribution in different zones (RZ, PZ, and HZ) in the proximal tibia. RZ, resting chondrocyte zone; PZ, proliferative chondrocyte zone; HZ, hypertrophic chondrocyte zone; TB, trabecular bone. (c,e,g) Representative images of tibia sections stained with H&E from different zones of the proximal tibia growth plate of normal and TD chickens. Black arrows indicate the blood vessels. Scale bar, 500 μm. (d,f,h) Quantification of tibia blood vessel area and blood vessel number in the RZ, PZ, and PZ, respectively, from normal and TD chickens. Data represent means ± min or max. (n = 6, 3 sample replicates and 2 two isolated statistical groups (3 different microscopic fields were used as an average) using Image-Pro® Plus 6.0), ^*p < 0.05, ^***p < 0.001, two-tailed unpaired t-test. NS, not significant. (i) The changes in area and number of blood vessels were shown in heatmaps using the indicated pseudocolor scale from 0 percent (green) to 100 percent (red), relative to average values.