Fig. 5.

Retinal pigment epithelial cell alterations in different strains of young and aged mice. a Eyes from young (3-5 m) and aged (10-12 m) Socs3^fl/fl, LysMCre-Socs3^fl/fl, Cx3cr1^gfp/gfp and DKO mice were embedded in paraffin and retinal sections were subjected to haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Images were taken from the central and mid-peripheral area of the retina. Asterisks – vacuoles inside RPE; Red arrows – Purple stained materials (possibly cell nuclei) on top of RPE. Scale bar: 50 μm. GCL – ganglion cell layer; INL – inner nuclear layer; ONL – outer nuclear layer; IS - inner segments of photoreceptors; OS - outer segments of photoreceptors; RPE – retinal pigment epithelium. b RPE/choroidal flatmounts from 10 to 12 months old DKO mice were stained for phalloidin (red) and imaged by Dmi8. GFP⁺ infiltrating subretinal cells (macrophages or microglia) were in green. Representative images showing areas of normal RPE morphology with no infiltrating cells and different grades of RPE dysmorphologies with different numbers of infiltrating GFP⁺ cells. The outlines of individual RPEs were sketched at the bottom using FIJI. Scale bar: 50 μm. c Correlation between RPE shape factor and the number of infiltrating GFP cells. Statistics were applied by five images per mouse from six aged DKO mice