Constitutive Dgcr8flox/floxCreB+ mice exhibit defects in RPE monolayer integrity and visual function.
A, immunostaining of flat mounted RPE for the tight junction protein ZO-1 revealed a disruption of RPE organization in 8-week-old Dgcr8flox/floxCreB+ mice proportional to their amount of white fur. Scale bar, 50 μm. B, ERG recordings revealed decreased amplitudes for both scotopic a-waves and photopic b-waves in Dicer1flox/floxCreB+ and Dgcr8flox/floxCreB+ mice with a high proportion of white fur. p values were statistically significant when calculated for Dgcr8flox/floxCreB+ (5–10%) versus Dgcr8flox/flox, Dgcr8flox/floxCreB+ (40–60%) versus Dgcr8flox/flox; *, p < 0.001 for Dicer1flox/floxCreB+ (40–60%) versus CreB+, Dgcr8flox/floxCreB+
versus CreB+, and Dgcr8flox/floxCreB+
versus CreB+; Dicer1flox/floxCreB+ (black) versus Dicer1flox/flox, Dicer1flox/floxCreB+ (black) versus CreB+, Dicer1flox/floxCreB+ (5–10%) versus CreB+, Dgcr8flox/floxCreB+ (black) versus Dgcr8flox/flox, and Dgcr8flox/floxCreB+
versus CreB+, Dicer1flox/floxCreB+ (5–10%) versus Dicer1flox/flox, Dicer1flox/floxCreB+ (40–60%) versus Dicer1flox/flox.