Fig. 1: Diagrams of rod and retromer-regulated trafficking as well as rod-loss and retinal degeneration in Rod^∆Vps35 mice.

a A diagram depicts the four compartments of a mammalian rod and their respective retinal layer distribution shown in the HE-stained mouse retinal section. b A diagram illustrates the multiple retromer-controlled vesicular trafficking pathways. The VPS26-VPS29-VPS35 retromer complex primarily resides in the junction between the globular and tubular domains of the EE. TGN: Trans-Golgi network. c VPS35 immunostaining in 3-week (wk)-old and 3-month (m)-old Ctrl and KO mouse retinas. Enlarged views show that VPS35 puncta normally observed in the IS region of Ctrl is diminished in KO at both ages. The residual VPS35 signal is derived from the IS of the morphologically characteristic cones. d Quantification of VPS35 staining signal in different retinal layers of 3-month-olds. AUF arbitrary unit of fluorescence. Mean ± SD and P-values of N = 3 in each group are shown. Two-tailed Student’s t-test. e (Left) Representative age-matched H&E-stained mouse retinal sections. (Right) measurement of the ONL thickness across the superior and inferior retinal hemispheres in relation to the distances (µm) to the optical nerve head (ONH; considered as 0). Mean ± SD and P-values of N = 3 in each group are shown. Two-way ANOVA test. Representative data of 3 independent repeats of (c, e) are shown. Source data of (d, e) are provided as a Source Data file.