Fig. 3.
Abca1/g1−rod/−rod mouse retinas (aged 18 months) show decreased scotopic and photopic responses and atrophic retinal neurodegeneration. A–C: ERG of 18-month-old Abca1/g1F/F and Abca1/g1−rod/−rod mice. Abca1/g1F/F (blue circles), n = 4; Abca1/g1−rod/−rod (red squares), n = 4. A: Scotopic a-wave amplitude. B: Scotopic b-wave amplitude. C: Photopic b-wave amplitude. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001 by two-way ANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni’s multiple comparison test. D: Representative fundus images of 18-month-old Abca1/g1F/F and Abca1/g1−rod/−rod mouse retinas. Note the atrophic appearance of Abca1/g1−rod/−rod mouse retinas (white arrowhead). E: Quantification of retinal atrophic foci per field. Abca1/g1F/F (blue circles), n = 8; Abca1/g1−rod/−rod (red squares), n = 7. *P < 0.05 by two-tailed unpaired t-test. F: Representative optical coherence tomography images of 18-month-old Abca1/g1−rod/−rod mouse retinas. Note the subretinal hyper-reflective foci in Abca1/g1−rod/−rod mouse retinas (white arrowhead) corresponding to fundus atrophic appearance. G: Representative electron microscopy images of retinal atrophic foci in 18-month-old Abca1/g1−rod/−rod mouse retinas. Note the vacuoles (asterisk) and photoreceptor disk fragments (yellow arrowheads). Scale bar: 2 μm. H: Representative H&E staining images of 18-month-old Abca1/g1F/F and Abca1/g1−rod/−rod mouse retinas. Note the degenerative vacuolization of the outer retina. Scale bar: 20 μm. I, J: Representative electron microscopy images of 18-month-old Abca1/g1F/F and Abca1/g1−rod/−rod mouse retinas. I: Vacuoles in outer segment of Abca1/g1−rod/−rod mouse retinas (asterisk). Scale bar: 1 μm. J: Accumulation of lipid globules (red arrowheads), undigested photoreceptor disk fragments (yellow arrowhead), and vacuoles (asterisk) within the RPE. Scale bar: 2 μm. Values are mean ± SE.