Fig. 6

Percentage of macrophages with more than 3 cell-associated birefringent particles in the granite- and talc-exposed groups. On day 1, the granite group had approximately 1% of macrophages with more than 3 particles, while the talc group had approximately 10%. This was the only day where the talc group had a higher value compared to the granite group. The difference between talc- and granite-exposed groups on day 1 was statistically significant (p < 0.03). On day 4, the granite group increased to above 30%, while the talc group was approximately 20%, but this difference was not significant. On day 7, the granite group increased, while the talc group decreased below 10%, a highly significant difference (p = 0.0001). By day 14, the granite group decreased to approximately 22%, while the talc group increased to approximately 10% (p < 0.03). All data are shown as Mean ± SE