Fig. 3: RVO induces an EC Casp9 regulated increase in CD68⁺ microglia.

A Experimental schematic. Two-month-old iEC Casp9 WT/KO mice were treated with tamoxifen for five consecutive days. After two days, eyes were subjected to RVO, and eyes were collected one and two days P-RVO. Created with BioRender.com. B Retinal cross-sections from uninjured, one and two days P-RVO iEC Casp9 WT and KO mice were stained with CD68 (green), Iba-1 (red), and DAPI (white). Scale bar 50 µm and inset 10 µm. C Quantification of the number of Iba-1⁺ cells in uninjured iEC Casp9 WT (n = 5) and KO (n = 6), one day P-RVO iEC Casp9 WT (n = 8) and KO (n = 9), and two days P-RVO iEC Casp9 WT (n = 10) and KO (n = 10 D Quantification of number of CD68⁺ cells in uninjured iEC Casp9 WT (n = 5) and KO (n = 6), one day P-RVO iEC Casp9 WT (n = 8) and KO (n = 9), and two days P-RVO iEC Casp9 WT (n = 8) and KO (n = 7). E Quantification of percent area of colocalization of Iba-1⁺ and CD68⁺ cells in uninjured iEC Casp9 WT (n = 5) and KO (n = 5), one day P-RVO iEC Casp9 WT (n = 6) and KO (n = 9), and two days P-RVO iEC Casp9 WT (n = 7) and KO (n = 6). *P ≤ 0.05, **P ≤ 0.01, and ****P ≤ 0.0001. Error bars mean ± SEM, Two-way ANOVA, Fisher’s LSD test. Retinal ganglion layer (RGL), inner nuclear layer (INL), and outer nuclear layer (ONL).