Fig. 5: AAV2-Pgk-mCherry-BclXL gene therapy does not alter the progression of ocular hypertension in DBA/2J mice.

A Brightfield image showing the relevant ocular anatomy for the outflow pathway of an eye that was transduced with AAV2-Pgk-mCherry-BclX_L. B–D Fluorescent images showing the DAPI-positive nuclei (B) and the expression pattern of mCherry-BCLX_L (C), as well as a combined view of B, C (D). Note that an mCherry antibody was used to amplify the mCherry-BCLX_L signal. Expression is seen strongly in the retina and ciliary body but is not present in Schlemm’s canal, the iris, or the trabecular meshwork (TM). The exterior surface of the cornea also appears to be expressing mCherry-BCLX_L, which may be the result of viral particles flowing onto the surface of the eye when the needle is removed from the eye during the intravitreal injection. E Intraocular pressures of AAV2-Pgk-mCherry-BclX_L transduced and naive DBA/2J mice that were measured every 2 weeks from the age of 8 to 42 weeks. Transduction occurred the day after the second measurement of IOP when the mice were 10 weeks old. The data are represented as box and whisker plots with the mean shown as a bar in the center of the data, the 25th and 75th percentiles shown as the edges of the box, and the whiskers extending to show the minimum and maximum values for the data. For IOP measurements, N = an average of 18 eyes per group per time point. Generalized Estimating Equation regression modeling was used to assess the statistical difference between the IOPs of the groups at each timepoint and longitudinally. Individual timepoints that are statistically different from one another are shown. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. Regression analysis performed on the data show that the longitudinal IOP progression of the naive and mCherry-BCLX_L groups are similar.