Fig. 5.

Vascular defects in Ilk^iECKO/+ heterozygotes. a, b Extended focus (a:XY; b:XZ) and optical section images (right panels in a) of isolectin B4-stained P17 control and Ilk^iECKO/+ retinal wholemounts. Vessel density and vertical sprouts between IPL and OPL are reduced in Ilk^iECKO/+. Scale bar, 50 μm in (a) and 25 μm in (b). c, d Images of isolectin B4-stained control and Ilk^iECKO/+ retinal vessels with pseudo-coloring of the NFL (green) and OPL (red) vasculature (c). Scale bar, 50 μm. Ilk^iECKO/+ OPL EC area, branch points and vertical sprouts are reduced, whereas NFL vessels are comparable to control samples (d). Error bars, s.e.m. p values (***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, ns not significant), Student’s t test (n = 3 retinas/group). Source data are provided as a Source Data file