Pro-inflammatory cytokine-induced changes in retinal expression of GFAP and iba-1 in CD1 and NOD mice.

(A) Immunohistochemical images showing GFAP expression in the optic nerve of PBS-injected and cytokine-treated CD1 and NOD mice. GFAP labelling was evident in all treatment groups but appeared highest in cytokine-treated NOD mice. (B) Quantification of the integrated density of GFAP in the optic nerve of PBS-injected and cytokine-treated CD1 and NOD mice revealed that GFAP expression was higher in cytokine-treated compared to PBS-injected NOD (p < 0.0001) and cytokine-treated CD1 mice (p = 0.0003). (C) Immunohistochemical images showing the presence of Iba1-positive cells within the optic nerve in all treatment groups. Compared to PBS-injected groups, Iba1-positive cells in cytokine-treated eyes displayed long, extended cellular processes (white arrows). White boxes in the top row have been zoomed in on the bottom to highlight the differences in Iba1-positive cells. Statistical comparisons were carried out using two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. Scale bar: 25 μm; Data presented as mean + SEM. ***p ≤ 0.001; ****p ≤ 0.0001; n = 6 eyes for PBS injected groups; n = 12 eyes for cytokine-treated groups.