Fig. 9: Smad2 genetic deficiency rescues the vascular malformation in Tfam^ECKO mice.

Retinal tissues from WT, Tfam^ECKO, Smad2^ECKO and double knockout (DKO) mice were harvested at P15. a–c Attenuation of arterialization and microaneurysm formation in the DKO retinas. Whole mount co-staining with α-SMA, endomucin (EMCN) and CD31. Arrowheads indicate normal or normalized vessels and arrows indicate microaneurysm in the mutant retinas. Asterisks indicate arterialized microvessels. α-SMA coverage (α-SMA/CD31 ratio) and vascular density were quantified. n = 6 mice per group. A: artery/arterial; V: vein. d–f Whole mount staining for CD31. Vasculatures in three retinal layers (surface, intermediate and deep) were imaged by confocal microscopy analyses, and pseudo-colored by red, blue and green, respectively. Tfam^ECKO retinas had only the surface vessels with malformation and microaneurysms (arrows). Normal (WT and Smad2^ECKO) or normalized capillaries in DKO are indicated by arrowheads. Vessel density and branch points were quantified. n = 6 mice per group. Data are means ± SEM. P values are indicated, using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. Scale bar: 50 μm (a); 25 μm (d). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.