Epiregulin enhances periodontal tissue regeneration by promoting bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell functions under inflammatory niches

Figure 4 Local injection of epiregulin promoted the regeneration of periodontal tissue in a rat model of periodontitis. A: Three-dimensional micro-computed tomography reconstruction of mouse maxillary from the three groups; B: Sagittal-sectional images of maxillary; C and D: Micro-computed tomography measurement of bone formation (n = 5, one-way analysis of variance); E-M: Hematoxylin and eosin staining indicated new periodontal tissue regeneration from coronal-sectional images of maxillary in the blank control group (E), periodontitis group (H), periodontitis + sodium chloride (NaCl) (K) and periodontitis + epiregulin (EREG) (N). Scale bar: 200 μm; hematoxylin and eosin staining indicated Sharpey’s fibers in the blank control group (G), periodontitis group (J), periodontitis + NaCl (M) and periodontitis + EREG (P). Scale bar: 100 μm; hematoxylin and eosin staining indicated inflammatory cells infiltration in the blank control group (F), periodontitis group (I), periodontitis + NaCl (L) and periodontitis + EREG (O). Scale bar: 50 μm; Q: Quantitative analysis of distance between cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) and height of alveolar bone (n = 3, Kruskal-Wallis test). Error bars represent the standard deviation. ^aP ≤ 0.05; ^bP ≤ 0.01. B: Bone; D: Dentin; HAB: Height of alveolar bone.