Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA)

Whole-body DEXA scans were collected on isoflurane-anesthetized mice using a PIXImus II (GE Lunar, Madison, WI) densitometer. All experimental mice were scanned at 7, 10, and 15 weeks of age as indicated in Fig 1A. From the whole body scans, areal bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) were calculated for the entire postcranial skeleton using the Lunar ROI tools.

Increased bone DEXA values in mice with activated Lrp5 HBM alleles in Ctsk-Cre expressing cells. (A) Schematic diagram of the experimental design. (B - E) Skeletal mass and density were increased significantly in Lrp5 HBM conditional mice (+/A or +/G) when the Ctsk-Cre transgene was present (TG, open symbols) compared to non-transgenic mice (NTG, filled symbols). Whole body bone mineral content (WB BMC) and density (WB BMC) were measured by DXA at 7, 10, and 15 weeks using an ROI that encompassed the entire postcranial skeleton of (B and C) female and (D and E) male mice. * p < 0.05 compared to Lrp5-matched NTG counterpart, † p < 0.05 compared to +/G TG mice. Sample size is n=11/group.