Fig. 6: BCLX_L gene therapy attenuates RGC-specific transcript depletion in aged DBA/2J mice.

Quantitative (real time) PCR was used to assess retinal gene expression in young mice and glaucomatous mice. A BclX_L expression was five times higher in transduced, aged DBA/2J mice (grey bars) than either young or 10.5-month-old naive animals (black bars). B–F The transcript abundances of five RGC-specific/selective transcripts. RGC transcripts were consistently more abundant in aged mice that were BCLX_L treated than age-matched mice that did not receive BCLX_L. G, H The transcript abundance of Gfap and Hsp27, two transcripts produced in retinas experiencing glaucomatous stress. These transcripts were significantly more abundant in aged mice relative to the young mice that had not developed glaucoma. I The transcript abundance of Gap43, a gene that has been associated with neuroregeneration. Gap43 was more abundant in BCLX_L-treated, 10.5-month-old mice than young or 10.5-month-old naive mice. Four groups of three pooled eyes were used for each experimental cohort. The graphs display the average abundance of the four groups and the error bars show the standard deviation from that average. All transcript levels are quantified as the number of target molecules present per molecule of S16 ribosomal protein mRNA. Statistical evaluation was made using unpaired t tests of the means (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01).