Fig. 5
From: Retinal alterations in a pre-clinical model of an autism spectrum disorder
Altered expression of SYN-1, mGluR5, and FMRP in the VPA retina. a Photomicrographs of CTR and VPA retinal sections immunolabeled for synapsin-1 (SYN-1, red) and nuclei (DAPI, blue). SYN-1 immunoreactivity is located exclusively in the IPL in CTR and VPA mice and appears brighter in CTR. Scale bar = 25 μm. b The mean SYN-1 immunofluorescence signal of VPA retinal sections (normalized to CTR ± SEM; n = 5 each) is significantly smaller (*p = 0.021). c Photomicrographs of CTR and VPA retinal sections immunolabeled for mGluR5 (red) and nuclei (DAPI, blue). mGluR5 immunoreactivity is confined to both synaptic layers in CTR and VPA mice and appears brighter in VPA retinas. Scale bar = 25 μm. d The mean mGluR5 immunofluorescence of VPA retinal sections (normalized to CTR ± SEM; n = 6 each) is significantly larger in the OPL (*p = 0.010) and IPL (*p = 0.018). e Photomicrographs of CTR and VPA retinal sections immunolabeled for FMRP (red) and nuclei (DAPI, blue). FMRP immunoreactivity is strong in the IPL and GCL in CTR mice and fainter in VPA animals. Scale bar = 25 μm. f The mean FMRP signal in VPA retinal sections (normalized to CTR ± SEM; n = 5 each) is significantly reduced in the IPL (*p = 0.050) and GCL (*p = 0.020). The red dashed lines in panels b, d, and f) represent the value for CTR (= 1). g Top: Mean optical density (± SEM) of SYN-1 in immunoblots of CTR (white bar, n = 7) and VPA (black bar, n = 7) retinas, normalized to the beta-actin signal (*p = 0.026). Bottom: Representative SYN-1 bands (77 kDa) and the corresponding beta-actin bands (42 kDa) of CTR vs. VPA. h Top: Mean optical density (± SEM) of the mGluR5 signal in immunoblots of CTR (white bar, n = 7) and VPA (black bar, n = 6) retinas, normalized to the beta-actin signal (*p = 0.022). Bottom: Representative mGluR5 bands (132 kDa) and the corresponding beta-actin bands (42 kDa) of CTR vs. VPA. i Top: Mean optical density (± SEM) of the FMRP immunofluorescence in blots of CTR (white bar, n = 8) and VPA (black bar, n = 7) retinas, normalized to the beta-actin signal (*p = 0.050). Bottom: Representative FMRP bands (75 kDa) and the corresponding beta-actin bands (42 kDa) of CTR vs. VPA