Morphometric characterization of murine articular cartilage-novel application of confocal laser scanning microscopy

Abstract

A new technique for characterization of the three-dimensional morphology of murine articular cartilage is proposed. The technique consists of a novel application of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), where the objective was to develop and validate it for cartilage measurements in murine joints. Murine models are used in arthritis research, because they are welldescribed for manipulating the disease pathophysiology, facilitating our understanding of the disease, and identifying new targets for therapy. A calibration and reproducibility study was carried out to provide a consistent testing methodology for quantification of murine joints. The proximal tibial condyles from male C57BL/6 m..