Figure 6. Gene expression profiling of retinal endothelial cells from control and Pdgfb^icre/+ dnRAR403^fl/fl.

(A) Endothelial cells were isolated from dnRAR403^fl/fl and Pdgfb^icre/+ dnRAR403^fl/fl retinas and the RNA expression levels were quantified using RT-qPCR. Retinas were digested and endothelial cells were enriched using CD31 magnetic labeling. (B) Relative to the digestion of a whole retina, endothelial cell magnetic separation significantly reduced the expression of Map2 (neuron), Gfap (astrocyte), and increased enrichment for endothelial genes Cldn5, Sox17, and Tie2. (C) Relative to controls, Pdgfb^icre/+ dnRAR403^fl/fl endothelial cells had significantly decreased levels of Cdh5, Lef1, and Vegfr3. There was no significant difference between controls and mutants of Hes1, Hey1, Notch1, Dll4, Axin2, or Vegfr2. (p <0.05, *; p<0.01, **; p<0.001, ***).