Research Article

Genetic Background Strongly Influences the Bone Phenotype of P2X7 Receptor Knockout Mice

Figure 1

Bone mineral density, bone strength, and serum concentration of the resorption marker in the P2X7−/− in the strains BALB/cJ and B6 compared to their wild type littermates, displayed as means ± SEM. (a) Bone mineral density in BALB/cJ and B6 measured by DXA scanning on the PIXImus. The mice homozygote for the P2X7 deletion in both strains had significant higher BMD than the wild type. There was also significant difference in BMD between the two wild type groups. (b) Bone mineral density in the femoral region of BALB/cJ and B6 measured by DXA scanning on the PIXImus. The mice homozygote for the P2X7 deletion in both strains had higher BMD than the wild type; however it was only significant in the BALB/cJ strain. There were also significant differences in BMD between the two wild type groups. (c) Strength of femurs in BALB/cJ and B6 measured by a three-point bending test. The mice homozygous for the P2X7 deletion in BALB/cJ had significant stronger bones than the wild type BALB/cJ. B6 wild type bones were significantly weaker in the test and only a small significant difference when compared to the knockout group. (d) Concentration of s-CTX (ng/mL) in BALB/cJ and B6. There were no significant differences between the wild type and homozygote in the B6 strains. In BALB/cJ the serum concentration was significantly 46% lower in the KO animals compared to the wild type.
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