Fig. 4

BM-MSC transplants trigger Müller cell hypertrophy, microglial activation and recruitment of CD45⁺ cells. A: Retinal magnifications from intact pigmented and albino animals showing the normal expression of vimentin in Müller cells (purple). B: Vimentin expression (purple) in transplanted retinas at 5 and 21 days. C: Column graph showing the signal intensity of vimentin relative to intact (mean signal in albino and pigmented, 100% arbitrary units) in all transplanted retinas at both time points (n = 4 retinas/group/timepoint, 3 sections/retina). Müller cell hypertrophy was significant in allotransplanted retinas at 5 and 21 days and in xenotransplanted retinas at 21 days (*p < 0.05 compared to intact, nonparametric Mann–Whitney t test). D: Retinal magnifications showing the normal distribution of microglial cells (Iba1⁺, red) and CD45⁺ cells (purple) in intact and 21 days trasnplanted retinas. Asterisks mark CD45⁺ Iba1⁻ cells. E: Flow cytometry histograms and dot plots showing the per cent of CD45⁺ cells in intact and transplanted retinas. In xenotransplanted and allotransplanted retinas, the per cent of CD45⁺ cells was much higher than in intact or in syngeneic transplant. F: Retinal magnifications from intact and transplanted groups showing the morphology of microglial cells (Iba1⁺, red), CD45⁺ cells (purple) and their co-localization with DAPI staining. n = 4 retinas/group/assay