Figure 5.

(A–E). VEGFR2 expression was severely affected upon STZ injection and recovered after ed-NGF treatment. (A–C) Representative VEGFR2 (green)/NeuN (red) double immunofluorescent staining of the retina from healthy and diabetic rat retina, with or without topical NGF administration. (A’–C’) The high magnification of the VEGFR2/NeuN staining in the islets showing reduced VEGFR2 expression in the GCL layer of STZ retina, and its recovery after ed-NGF. (E–D). Quantification of the VEGFR2 immunofluorescence in the retina. The total integrated density (D) and percentage of area covered by VEGFR2 staining (E) in the three retinal layers. The results are expressed as mean ± SEM. Scale bar: 50 µm; islet: 30 µm. Statistical significance is indicated with * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01. “a” vs. CTRL group; “b” vs. STZ group. CTRL, healthy rats; STZ, streptozotocin; STZ+NGF, streptozotocin+nerve growth factor eye drops.