Fig. 3
Progressive cone degeneration in coneΔVhl mice. a Inactivation of Vhl in cones led to progressive retinal degeneration (upper panels) as compared to ctrl mice (lower panels). ConeΔVhl mice displayed disturbed layering with reorganization of the INL (asterisk, 12we coneΔVhl), severe loss of the ONL and partial loss of the RPE (arrowhead, 12we coneΔVhl, inset) at 12 and 26 weeks of age. Abbreviations as in Fig. 1. Scale bar 50 μm. b Line chart of ONL thickness in coneΔVhl mice (orange) as compared to ctrl mice (black) at 4 and 12 weeks of age. n≥3. c Relative expression levels of genes involved in stress signaling and degeneration. Expression levels were normalized to Actb and calculated relatively to 4-week-old ctrl mice, which were set to 1. Shown are means ± SD. Two-way ANOVA with Å Ãdák’s multiple comparison test was used for statistical analysis (Casp1: **p=0.0026, ****p<0.0001, *p=0.0244, Gfap: ****p<0.0001, **p=0.0035, ***p=0.0004, ****p<0.0001, Timp3: *p=0.0235, **p=0.0036, **p=0.0035, Vegf: ****p<0.0001, n≥3 per time point). Casp1: caspase 1, Gfap: glial fibrillary acidic protein, Timp3: tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3, Vegf: vascular endothelial growth factor