Fig. 5

PNS attenuates arthritis, restores structural integrity, and improves the draining function of lymphatic vessels in TNF-Tg mice. a Schematic illustration shows the experimental design, 3-month-old TNF-Tg mice were treated with PNS or saline by gavage daily for 3 months. WT littermates were treated with saline as a negative control. Mice were subjected to NIR-ICG lymphatic imaging before being sacrificed. b Representative images of H&E- and TRAP-stained sections show decreased inflammation, bone loss, and osteoclasts in PNS-treated mice. c Inflammatory area, bone area, and TRAP+ area. Values are the mean ± SD of 5–6 mice. *p < 0.05 vs. WT mice, ^#p < 0.05 vs. PNS-treated TNF-Tg mice by one-way analysis of variance followed by Dunnet post hoc test. d Representative images of whole-mount-stained sections show PDPD (red) and αSMA (green) double-positive mature LVs. e The percentage of vessels that are covered by SMCs. Values are mean ± SD of 6 mice *p < 0.05 by the Student t test. f Representative NIR-ICG images show a marked difference in the frequency of pulses among vehicle- and PNS-treated TNF-Tg mice. g Lymphatic pulses. Values are mean ± SD of 12–18 legs. n = 8–9 mice/group by one-way analysis of variance followed by the Dunnet post hoc test. h ICG clearance. Values are mean ± SD of 16–18 legs. n = 8–9 mice/group. *p < 0.05 vs. saline-WT, ^#p < 0.05 vs. saline-TNF-Tg mice by one-way analysis of variance followed by the Dunnet post hoc test