Fig. 5

Sildenafil at 10 mg/L alleviated osteoporosis in TS mice. A. Micro-CT images, H&E staining and Masson staining of the sham + PBS, sham + sildenafil, suspension + PBS, and suspension + sildenafil groups; B-G. The BMD, BV/TV, Tb.N, Tb.Th, BS/BV, and Tb.Sp values of the sham + PBS, sham + sildenafil, suspension + PBS, and suspension + sildenafil groups; H, I. The expression levels of the bone formation-related serum markers BALP and P1NP in the sham + PBS, sham + sildenafil, suspension + PBS, and suspension + sildenafil groups. The data are means ± standard deviations. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001. n ≥ 3. H&E staining image [scale bar]: 500 μm. TS, tail-suspended; micro-CT, micro-computed tomography; PBS, phosphate balanced solution; H&E, hematoxylin and eosin; BMD, bone mineral density; BV/TV, bone volume fraction; Tb.N, trabecular number; Tb.Th, trabecular thickness; BS/BV, bone surface area/bone volume; Tb.Sp, trabecular separation; BALP, anti-bone alkaline phosphatase; P1NP, type I N terminal propeptide