FIGURE 6.

Altered retinal microglial cell abundance, distribution, and activation in miR-155- and/or CCN1-deficient mice. A and B, representative images of retinal whole mounts stained with Iba-1 of WT, miR-155^−/−, iΔCCN1^−/−, and miR-155^−/−/iΔCCN1^−/− mice. B and C, double-staining (Iba-1 in green and IB4 in red) or retinal whole mounts illustrate the relationship between microglia and vasculature in the developing mouse retina at P4. Note the abundance of microglia at sites of contact between neighboring endothelial tip cells at the vascular front of miR-155^−/− mice. Microglia are positioned at branching points of the excessively anastomosed superficial capillary plexus of the largely anastomosed vasculature of iΔCCN1^−/− and miR-155^−/−/iΔCCN1^−/− mice. D, microglial cell count per surface unit of retina of WT, miR-155^−/−, iΔCCN1^−/−, and miR-155^−/−/iΔCCN1^−/− mice. *, p < 0.05 versus WT (n = 6). Error bars, S.E.