FIG. 6.

Histological preservation of retinas after 9 months of treatment with AAV-RS301. (A) Semithin sections were imaged 9 months postinjection. Left: Image of a retina from a P23H transgenic eye treated with AAV-GFP. In accordance with the in vivo image from SD-OCT, the image reveals a thin ONL (five or six rows of nuclei, with numerous gaps). This image also reveals shortened rod outer segments (OS). Scale bar: 30 μm. Right: In eyes treated with AAV-RS301, retinal structure was well preserved with a thicker whole retina, ONL, and OS. (B) The contour lengths of outer segments analyzed at 10 positions across the retina revealed longer outer segments at each position analyzed (S, superior hemisphere; I, inferior hemisphere). In five superior locations near the optic nerve head and five inferior locations, the differences between control treated and RS301-treated eyes were significantly different (n=4; *p<0.05, **p<0.005). (C) OS length was analyzed in whole superior area, whole inferior area, and whole retina including both superior and inferior areas to determine the overall length of OSs (n=4; **p<0.005). ONH, optic nerve head.