Fig. 4

rCXCL2 promotes RGC survival after optic nerve injury. a, b Immunofluorescence staining images showing RBPMS- or Thy1-positive RGCs in the whole-mount retinas (scale bar: 200 μm) and their representative images of middle regions in the retina (scale bar: 50 μm) 7 and 14 days after ONC with vehicle (PBS) or rCXCL2 injection, respectively. The whole retina was photomerged by several images at low magnification using Adobe Photoshop software. c Representative images of TUNEL staining in retinal sections. Scale bar, 20 μm. d Scheme of RGC counting; squares represent 12 counting fields (0.35 × 0.45 mm² each). The number of RGCs in each image was counted by three researchers blinded to the experiment and the average number of RGCs was determined. The scale bar is 200 μm. e, f Percentage of surviving RBPMS⁺ or Thy1⁺ RGCs normalized to a normal control group (100%), respectively. Six to eight biological replicates were used for five groups. Each biological replicate represents the average of 12 different fields in the retina. Data are shown as mean ± SEM, *p < 0.05. g The number of TUNEL-positive RGCs in five groups was quantified. Data are presented as mean ± SEM, n = 6 samples per group, *p < 0.05