Fig. 7: Pgam5 deletion protects RPE cells from oxidative stress in young but not old mice.

a Normal fundus in 2-months-old WT (left panel) and Pgam5^−/− (right panel) mice. b Fundus of 2-months-old WT (left panel) and Pgam5^−/− (right panel) mice at 5 days after NaIO₃ injection. Arrows point to the “white spots” that represent degenerated RPE. c ZO-1 staining of the retinal flatmount in 2-months-old WT (left panel) and Pgam5^−/− (right panel) mice. Scale bar = 50 µm. d ZO-1 staining of the retinal flatmount in 2-months-old WT (left panel) and Pgam5^−/− (right panel) mice at 5 days after NaIO3 injection. Scale bar = 50 µm. Arrows point to the disrupted RPE regions. e Representative H&E staining of sections from 2-months-old WT and Pgam5^−/− mice at 5 days after 20 mg/kg NaIO₃ injection. Top, middle and down panels represent the central, middle and periphery regions of the retina, respectively. Scale bar = 100 µm. Arrows point to disrupted RPE regions. f Normal fundus in 18-months-old WT (left panel) and Pgam5^−/− (right panel) mice. g Fundus of 18-months-old WT (left panel) and Pgam5^−/− (right panel) mice at 5 days after NaIO₃ injection. Arrows point to the “white spots” that represent degenerated RPE. h ZO-1 staining of the retinal flatmounts in 18-months-old WT (left panel) and Pgam5^−/− (right panel) mice. Scale bar = 50 µm. i ZO-1 staining of the retinal flatmount in 18-months-old WT (left panel) and Pgam5^−/− (right panel) mice at 5 days after NaIO3 injection. Scale bar = 50 µm. Arrows point to the disrupted RPE regions. j Representative H&E staining of sections from 18-months-old WT and Pgam5^−/− mice at 5 days after 20 mg/kg NaIO₃ injection. Top, middle and down panels represent the central, middle and periphery regions of the retina, respectively. Scale bar = 100 µm. Arrows point to disrupted RPE regions. n = 4 biologically independent experiments for each group in this figure. Images were captured under same settings, and representative images were shown.