Fig. 12

Müller cell upregulation of GFAP after optic nerve crush is not affected by Panx1 deficiency. Wild-type and Panx1 conditional knockout mice were evaluated for GFAP expression after optic nerve crush. Genetic ablation of Panx1 did not appear to alter astrocyte expression of GFAP in control eyes (a, e, i). At 7, 14, and 21 days post-crush, all genotypes exhibited a clear upregulation of GFAP, indicated by an increase in intensity in the nerve fiber layer, and through the retinal layers, consistent with Müller cell activation. GFAP expression appeared strongest between 7 and 14 days, although Müller cell expression of GFAP was still present 21 days after crush injury. There did not appear to be an obvious difference in the pattern of macroglial activation between the three genotypes. Scale bar 50 μm. For wild-type and Panx1 ^−/− mice, at each time point n ≥ 3. For Panx1 ^−/− RGC mice, 7 days n = 3, and at 14 and 21 days n = 2