Fig. 1

Increased acellular capillaries characterize retinopathy in diabetic Nile rats. a Trypsin digest micrograph of a diabetic retina. Arrows = acellular capillaries; arrowheads = pericyte processes. Scale bar = 50 μm. b Representative retinal trypsin digest, 12 fields sampled per retina, 3 per quadrant. Scale bar = 1 mm. c Distribution of diabetic (n = 64) versus control Nile rats (n = 30) across increasing acellular capillaries. These Nile rats were between 20 and 80 weeks old. Standard deviation is reported beside the mean. d Distribution of the same cohort of Nile rats as panel (c) across increasing pericyte processes. e Significantly increased acellular capillaries in old Nile rats (n = 17) compared to young Nile rats (n = 6) in the diabetic group, p < 0.05. No significant difference between old Nile rats (n = 18) and young Nile rats (n = 15) in the control group. Old rats = 64–72 weeks old. Young rats = 24–32 weeks old