Fig. 6

Expression of macroglial markers Gfap and Nes are significantly attenuated after crush in Bax ^−/− mice. Wild-type and Bax ^−/− mice were evaluated for macroglial activation markers following optic nerve crush. a In wild-type mice, Gfap mRNA expression rose sharply by 7 days, and peaked at 14 days before declining again at 21 days post-crush. The Bax ^−/− mice, however, showed no change in Gfap expression 7 days after crush, and although expression was elevated by 14 days, it still remained significantly lower than the wild-type mice. By 21 days, both genotypes were trending towards baseline and were no longer significantly different. b A second macroglial activation marker, Nes, was also elevated in wild-type mice by 7 days after crush, after which expression steadily declined at 14 and again 21 days. Although Bax ^−/− mice also exhibited a rise in Nes expression at 7 and 14 days post-crush, the values were significantly lower than those seen in wild-type mice. By 21 days Nes expression levels were no longer significant between the wild-type and knockout mice. Data is presented as mean ± SD. *P < 0.001, **P < 0.0001. For each genotype at each time point, n ≥ 3