Fig. 6

Morphological changes in retinas due to administration of a caspase-3 inhibitor. (a) Analysis of retinas after intravitreal administration of a caspase-3 inhibitor using hematoxylin–eosin (i-iii) at the age of 10 days and TUNEL staining (iv-vi) at the age of 10 days. Wild-type rat retinas are shown in panels (i) and (iv). The loss of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) was delayed in the caspase-3 inhibitor group (iii) compared with the vehicle group (ii). The number of apoptosis-positive cells was clearly less in the caspase-3 inhibitor group (vi) relative to the vehicle group (v). Scale bar: 30 μm; vertical bar: ONL. (b) Graph showing the ONL thickness at the age of 10 days. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test: ***p < 0.001; ****p < 0.0001. (c) Graphical representation of the number of TUNEL positive cells per 45 columns of photoreceptor cells. The number of apoptosis-positive cells was significantly reduced at the age of 10 days. Unpaired t test: ****p < 0.0001