Fig. 3

Sequential Aβ injections promote NLRP3 inflammasome activation. a Immunoreactivity of total caspase-1 showed a 77% increase in RPE of the Aβ-injected eyes compared to the control group. b–c The Aβ-injected animals had a 6-fold higher IL-18 immunoreactivity than the control group (c). Representative micrographs exhibit an overall more intense IL-18 labeling (AEC, red, panel i and ii), particularly in the RPE layer (iii and iv) (b). NFL, nerve fiber layer; RGC, retinal ganglion cells; IPL, inner plexiform layer; INL, inner nuclear layer; OPL, outer plexiform layer; ONL, outer nuclear layer; IS, inner segments; OS, outer segments; RPE, retinal pigment epithelium; BM, Bruch’s membrane; Ch, choroid. Scale bars 20 μm. (d–e) IL-18 western blotting showed a 58% increase of band intensity (MW = 18 kDa) in Aβ injected animals compared to the controls. Bands shown are technical triplicates of the same-pooled sample. N ≥ 3, Mann-Whitney, *p < 0.05