Intravitreal SB 216763 injections activate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway following OIR, but have no influence on vessel regrowth into vaso-obliterated areas.

<p>A, B. Immunohistochemical staining for β-catenin (green) on retinal cryosections from FVB/n mice 6 h after intravitreal injection of 3 µl SB 216763 (5 µg/µl) (B) or DMSO injection (A) and oxygen-exposure until P12. After treatment with SB 216763 (B) a moderate accumulation of β-catenin is seen in the inner retina compared with DMSO injected controls (A). Blue, DAPI staining. Scale bars: 50 µm. C–F. Representative retinal whole mounts of FVB/n mice that were perfused with FITC-labeled dextran at P13 after induction of OIR and intravitreal SB 216763 (1×3 µl; 5 µg/µl; D, F) or PBS injection (C, E). Scale bars: 1000 µm. For quantification the area of vaso-obliteration (red in E, F) was quantified at P13 and plotted as percentage of total area of the superficial vascular plexus (G). No difference in the area of vaso-obliteration was observed between treated mice and control animals (mean ± SEM; n = 6 from 2 independent experiments).