Beneficial effects of natural eggshell membrane (NEM) on multiple indices of arthritis in collagen-induced arthritic rats

Figures & data

Figure 1. Effect of NEM on ankle diameter. Ankle measurements (Panel a) and AUC (Panel b) calculations were performed as described in Materials and Methods. Numbers above bars in Panel b indicate % inhibition calculated as described in Materials and Methods. Asterisks indicate statistical significance, defined as p < 0.05 vs arthritis vehicle.

Figure 2. Effects of NEM on individual ankle histopathology scores. Collagen arthritic ankles were given scores of 0–5 for inflammation, pannus formation, cartilage damage, bone resorption, and periosteal new bone formation according to the criteria indicated in Supplementary Information. Vehicle control, solid bars; NEM-8011510, hatched bars. Asterisks indicate statistical significance, defined as p < 0.05 vs arthritis vehicle.

Figure 3. Effects of NEM on morphologic pathology ankle joint. Panel A: Ankle from an arthritis vehicle control animal (with the approximate mean summed score for the group; animal # 7, left ankle) has severe inflammation (S) and moderate cartilage damage (large arrow) with mild pannus (small arrow) and bone resorption (arrowhead), as well as moderate periosteal bone formation (P). Panel B: Ankle from an arthritic animal treated with NEM-8011510 (with the approximate mean summed score for the group; animal #7, left ankle) has marked inflammation (S) and mild cartilage damage (large arrow) with minimal pannus (small arrow) and bone resorption (arrowhead), as well as mild periosteal bone formation (P). Each slide was evaluated at 16× magnification.

Figure 4. Effects of NEM on individual knee histopathology scores. Collagen arthritic knees were given scores of 0–5 for inflammation, pannus formation, cartilage damage, and bone resorption according to the criteria indicated in Supplementary Information. Vehicle control, solid bars; NEM-8011510, hatched bars. Asterisks indicate statistical significance, defined as p < 0.05 vs arthritis vehicle.

Figure 5. Effects of NEM on morphologic pathology knee joint. Panel A: Knee from a arthritis vehicle control animal (with the approximate mean summed score for the group; animal 1, right knee) has severe inflammation (S) with mild pannus (small arrow), cartilage damage (large arrow), and bone resorption (arrowhead). Panel B: Knee from an arthritic animal treated with NEM-8011510 (with the approximate mean summed score for the group; animal #9, right knee) has moderate inflammation (S) and mild cartilage damage (large arrow) with very minimal pannus (small arrow) and bone resorption (arrowhead). Each slide was evaluated at 50× magnification.

Figure 6. Effects of NEM on biomarkers CTXII, COMP, A2M, and IL-1β. Biomarkers were measured as described in Materials and Methods. CTX II, COMP, and A2M were measured in serum samples, and IL-1β was measured in knee lavage fluid. Bars with different letters indicate that they were statistically different at p < 0.05.