Figure 5

Persistent hypertrophic primary vitreous and disturbed retinal patterning in Tgfbr2-mutant mice. (a) Detailed view of the persistent hypertrophic primary vitreous in E18 Tgfbr2-mutant mice, showing a dense retrolental cell mass. (b-d) Staining shows that this mass is composed of various cell types, including (b) smooth muscle α-actin (SMαA)-positive pericytes (red) and (c) prospective melanocytes expressing Dct mRNA (blue). (d) Ki67 staining indicates cell proliferation (brown). (e) The persistent hypertrophic primary vitreous contains vessels of the hyaloid vascular system. (f) Expression of Brn3A and Pax6 (red antibody staining) is readily detectable at E15 in the inner retinal layers of control eyes (top). In Tgfbr2-mutant eyes, however, cells expressing these markers are less frequent. (g) Bar graph of the results shown in (f). Asterisks indicate a significant difference (p < 0.001). (h) At E18, staining for Brn3A, Pax6, and neurofilaments (NF) reveals the expected patterning of the retina in control eyes and a diffuse distribution in Tgfbr2-mutant embryos. Thus, retinal patterning is disturbed in Tgfbr2-mutant embryos with persistent hypertrophic primary vitreous. Scale bars represent 10 μm.