Fig. 6.

Aqp4 knockout aggravates neurovascular dysfunction in diabetic mice. (a) Six months after diabetes induction, retinal trypsin digestion was conducted to detect acellular capillaries in non-diabetic wild-type (WT) mice, non-diabetic Aqp4^−/− mice, diabetic wild-type (DR+WT) mice, and diabetic Aqp4^−/− mice. Red arrows indicated acellular capillaries. Acellular capillaries were quantified in 30 random fields per retina and averaged (n = 6). Scale bar, 10 μm. (b) The mice were perfused with Evans blue dye for 2 h. The fluorescence signal of flat-mounted retina was detected using the fluorescence microscope. The representative images were shown. Meanwhile, the quantification of Evans blue leakage was conducted (n = 6). Scale bar, 200 μm. (c) Immunofluoresence analysis of GFAP and NeuN were conducted to detect retinal reactive gliosis and RGC survival. The representative images were shown (n = 6). Scale bar, 50 μm. *P < 0.05 versus WT group; ^#P < 0.05 significant difference between the marked groups; NS, no significant difference. The significant difference was evaluated by the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by the post hoc Bonferroni test.