Figure 1.

Neurological signs in accordance with structural impairment of the retina. (A) Study design. (B) OSE mice showed clinical signs of encephalomyelitis with flaccid hind limb paralysis starting at day 26. A significantly higher score was observed in OSE mice while control mice remained healthy. (C) Additionally, 50% of OSE mice were affected after 32 days. The incidence increased to 75% at day 38 in OSE mice. (D) SD-OCT measurements were performed in six- and eight-week-old mice to evaluate the retinal thickness. (E) The morphological analysis of the retina revealed a reduction of the retinal thickness (ganglion cell complex to ONL) in six-week-old OSE animals in comparison to the control group. The reduction of the retinal thickness was also noted after eight weeks. (F) The ganglion cell complex thickness (RNFL, GCL and IPL) was reduced by 6.5% in eight-week-old OSE mice. (G) The INL thickness decreased by 2.5% between six and eight weeks time point in OSE mice. (H) A slight reduction of ONL thickness by 0.4% was seen in OCT analysis in the OSE group. Data are shown as mean ± SEM. ERG, electroretinogram; GCL, ganglion cell layer; Histo, histology; IHC, immunohistochemistry; IPL, inner plexiform layer; INL, inner nuclear layer; OCT, optical coherence tomography; OPL, outer plexiform layer; ONL, outer nuclear layer; OLM, outer limiting membrane; OS, outer segment; RPE, retinal pigment epithelium; RT-qPCR, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Scale bar: 200 μm.