Fig. 2

EVC induces retinal inflammation and microglial activation in both HT and NT eyes. a, b RT-qPCR analysis of the effect of cauterization on GFAP, CD68, IL-1β, CCL2, and Nox2 mRNA levels in naïve, NT, and HT eye retinas. mRNA levels are presented as a fold change relative to naïve rats after normalization with respect to the housekeeping gene (GAPDH). Each bar is the mean ± SEM. n = 8–10 animals/group. c Peripheral images from whole flat-mounted retina double-immunolabeled with Iba1 and CD68 antibody in naïve, NT, and HT eyes. Arrows show colocalization between markers. Scale bar = 100 μm. c–e Quantification of peripheral (d), middle (e), and central (f) mononuclear phagocyte (Iba1⁺CD68⁺ cells) density per retina in the naïve (n = 6), NT (n = 7), and HT (n = 7) eye groups. The average mononuclear phagocyte density values were determined from eight peripheral, middle, or central images per retina. g Confocal images of double-immunolabeling of CCL2 with GFAP, an astrocytic marker, in naïve, NT, and HT eye retinas. Arrowheads in inset show colocalization between markers. Scale bar = 100 μm. Results are expressed in arbitrary units and correspond to the means ± SEM. We performed a one-way ANOVA followed by the Kruskal–Wallis multiple comparisons post hoc test: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, and ****p < 0.0001