Figure 5

SC/DONS application promotes RGC survival by targeting secondary degeneration. (a) Confocal retinal whole-mount, stained with Brn-3a, was divided into the superior, central, and inferior regions, and RGC density calculated for each region. (b) Profiles of pONT-induced RGC loss in the superior, central, and inferior retina fitted to one-phase exponential decay model (Equation 1) and showed no significant difference among the three regions in half-lives and plateau, indicating that secondary degeneration occurred almost simultaneously with primary damage. (c–e) The effects of SC transplantation on RGC density in the superior (c), central (d), and inferior (e) retina reveal that SC/DONS showed more protection in the late stages, with a significant increase of plateau in the superior (f), central (g), and inferior (h) retina compared with the no treatment group. In comparison, SC/IVT showed an early delay in RGC loss followed by a rapid decay in the central and inferior retina (d and e). Data were presented as means±S.E. *P<0.05