Figure 2.

Characterization of retinal GFP expression in mice injected at various time points. Confocal images show the pattern of GFP expression in retinal whole mounts taken from adult mice injected at P1, P5 or P9 with AAV9-GFP. In the central retina (first row), mice injected at P1 had GFP-expressing cell bodies near the optic nerve head (ONH) (marked by asterisk). In contrast, mice injected at P5 had fewer GFP-positive cell bodies in the central retina, while axons traveling from peripheral ganglion cells are observed running toward the ONH (arrowhead). In mice injected at P9, GFP expression was observed in sparse retinal cells. The arrow indicates GFP expression in retinal blood vessels. P1-injected mice had no GFP expression in peripheral retina (second row), while P5 injected mice had GFP expression nearing the retinal edge (dashed line). P9-injected mice had sparse GFP expression in cells across the retina and up to the far edge. Images from RPE flatmounts (bottom row) showed that in P1-injected mice, there was strong GFP expression in RPE cells. In P5-injected mice, GFP expression was also present in RPE. In P9 mice, few RPE cells had strong GFP expression.