Dose-dependent excitotoxic injury of Brn3a+ RGCs.

<p>Effect of intraocular injection of different amounts of NMDA on Brn3a+ RGC survival. (A) Fluorescence micrographs of cross sections of P11 retina 14 days after injection of saline (a’-c’), 10 μg of NMDA (d’-f’), 50 μg of NMDA (g’-i’) and 100 μg of NMDA (j’-l’). Brn3a (green), rhodopsin immunoreactivity (red) and DAPI (blue). (B) Bar graph showing survival of Brn3a+ RGCs at 7 and 14 days post-lesion. 100 μg NMDA was only analyzed 14 dpl. Cell-counts were on cross-sections and are shown as percentage of Brn3a+ cells in normal control retina (100%, not shown). One way ANOVA, Tukey test post-hoc test, n = 4, ** = p<0.01, *** = p< 0.001. GCL; ganglion cell layer, INL; inner nuclear layer.