Fig. 3

T-cell response to laser-induced injury in mice and during degeneration in human retina. a–c Tracking of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells clustering in the same eye of a C57BL/6 mouse and imaging of Foxp3⁺ cells in the same eye of a Foxp3 GFP knock-in mice. a Magenta dashes outline retinal injury in reflectance (Ref.), while inserts correspond to the area delimited by a white box in reflectance. Inserts show T cells by the damaged area on days 1 and 4 in the proximity of the NLF (Sup.) and the PR (Deep). Scale bar is 100 μm in reflectance images, 50 μm in the inserts of CD4 and CD8 images and 100 μm images depicting Foxp3 cells. b Quantification of the number of CD4, CD8 and Foxp3 T cells per lesion by the superficial vasculature at baseline and at different time points after laser (Da 1, 4, 7, 10 and 14). Significant differences (***p < 0.001 and ****p < 0.0001) between baseline and the different time points were determined by using a post hoc Bonferroni one-way ANOVA test (n = 8) c Quantification of the number of CD4, CD8 and Foxp3 T cells per lesion found by the deep vasculature network at baseline and on days 1, 4, 7, 10 and 14. Significant differences (***p < 0.001 and ****p < 0.0001) between baseline and different time points were determined using a post hoc Bonferroni one-way ANOVA test (n = 8). d–f Analysis of the inflammatory response in retinas presenting drusen (Drusen) compared to healthy retinas (Healthy) using a pan-PL marker (CD45) and a T-cell co-receptor marker (CD3). d Shown are representative sections stained for CD45 (red) and CD3 (green). The number of CD45⁺/CD3⁺ cells is significantly higher in the macula and peripheral retina with drusen. e Mean ± SD of the number of CD45⁺ and CD3⁺ cells in the macula. f Mean ± SD of the number of CD45⁺ and CD3⁺ cells in the peripheral retina. Significant differences (**p < 0.01 and ****p < 0.0001) between “Healthy” and “Drusen” groups were determined by using a post hoc Bonferroni one-way ANOVA test (n = 8). Scale bars equals 100 μm