Figure 5.

GFAP and Retinal gliosis in Ush1c^−/− and Ush1g^−/− BALB/cJ mice. (a–c) GFAP immunolabeling on retinal cross-sections display similar distribution patterns between control (a), Ush1g^−/− (b) and Ush1c^−/− (c) BALB/cJ mice. (d–h) Iba1-immunopositive microglial cells on retinal sections. Microglial cells are regularly distributed in the inner (IPL) and outer (OPL) plexiform layers in control animals (d). In Ush1g^−/− (e) and Ush1c^−/− (f) BALB/cJ mice, activated microglial cells are also present in the regions of outer (OS) and inner (IS) segments of photoreceptor cells (white arrowhead, e). In (f), a microglial cell with a process extending in the outer nuclear layer (ONL) (white arrowhead). (g and h) Flat-mounted retinas of wild-type (g) and Ush1g^−/− (h) BALB/cJ mice. The bulging and multiplication of cell bodies shown in the IPL and OPL of Ush1g^−/− mice (h) is a feature of activated microglial cells. (i) Quantification on total flat-mounted retinas, comparing Ush1g^−/− mice with age-matched controls, showed an increase in the numbers of microglial cells in the IPL, OPL, and throughout the entire retina. The data shown are means ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 (Student’s t-test). The scale bars represent 15 µm in (a–f) and 50 µm (g and h). RPE: retinal pigment epithelium cell, INL: inner nuclear layer.