In this study, the efficacy of phycocyanin in bone defect repairing was tested on a zebrafish skull defect model, and the evaluating process was monitored in vivo using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Thirty zebrafish were randomly divided into three groups, which were immersed in water and phycocyanin solution (50 and 100 mg/L) after skull defect creating. All zebrafish were examined by OCT immediately after craniotomy, and on the 10th and 20th days of phycocyanin treatment. All the model fish were euthanized to enable a histological evaluation of skull after 20 days of recovery. OCT images demonstrated that phycocyanin (50 mg/L) could repair a cranial defect within 20 days. A high concentration (100 mg/L) of phycocyanin may favor the recovery of bone abnormalities in 10 days, but with the extended treatment time to 20 days, a deformation of the skull occurs.
Keywords: optical coherence tomography; phycocyanin; regeneration; skull; zebrafish.
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