Human Umbilical Cord-Mesenchymal Stem Cells Survive and Migrate within the Vitreous Cavity and Ameliorate Retinal Damage in a Novel Rat Model of Chronic Glaucoma

Figure 4

Neuroprotective effects of hUC-MSCs on RGCs in the COH model. (a) Representative fluorescence micrographs of flat-mounted retinas depicting Fluorogold-labeled RGCs in normal eyes and in glaucomatous eyes in the absence or presence of hUC-MSCs. The panels labeled as 1, 2, and 3 mm correspond to the areas marked on the whole-mounted retinas in (c). Scale bar: 50 μm. (b) Schematic diagram showing the experimental protocol for retrogradely labeling RGCs with Fluorogold. (c) Schematic diagram showing the area in which Fluorogold-labeled RGCs were observed and counted on the flattened retinas. The circles shown at 1, 2, and 3 mm represent areas located 1, 2, and 3 mm radially distant from the optic disk. (d) Quantitative statistics of the numbers of labeled RGCs in the different experimental groups. RGCs were counted in 12 microscopic fields of identical size (1.19 mm² areas) for each retina. and . for each group. FG: Fluorogold.

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