Fig. 6
Retinal neovascularization and higher expression of AQP1 and COX-2 in the Ins2Akita mice. a, b Upper panels: Hematoxylin/eosin-stained retinal cross-sections from sex- and age-matched (1 year-old) C57BL/6 non-diabetic control mice (a) and D2.B6-Ins2 Akita (b). Magnification: 60x. Lower panels: immunohistochemistry of CD31-stained retinal cross-sections from D2.B6-Ins2 Akita (a) and sex- and age-matched (1 year-old) C57BL/6 non-diabetic control mice (b), showing higher CD31 immunoreactivity in the D2.B6-Ins2 Akita mice. Magnification: 40x and 100x. c The extent of angiogenesis was determined by measuring total vessels (arterioles and capillaries) density in light microscopy sections. N = 2 eyes per animal, with each experimental group consisting of n = 7 mice. The bar graph represents for each value the mean ± S.D. from 3 separate experiments. **, P < 0.01 vs C57BL/6 control mice. d, e: Western analysis of COX-2 and AQP1 expression in retinas from D2.B6-Ins2 Akita mouse and from sex- and age-matched (1 year-old) C57BL/6 non-diabetic control mice, with β-actin serving as a loading control. N = 2 eyes/group, with each group consisting of n = 7 mice. The bar graph represents for each value the mean ± S.D. from three separate experiments. **, P < 0.01 vs C57BL/6 control mice