Fig. 1

Innate immune response to laser-induced damage in the murine retina. a Schematic of the inflammatory response in the retina upon laser-induced injury. a The damage is symbolized by a gap in the RPE and PR, where innate immune cells are recruited. We quantified the cell density, discriminating between superficial vasculature nearby the NFL (superficial and intermediate vascular plexus) and the deep vasculature nearby PR and RPE (deep vascular network and choriocapillaris). NFL, nerve fiber layer; VP, vascular plexuses; GC, ganglion cell layer; INL, inner nuclear layer; ONL, outer nuclear layer; PR, photoreceptor layer; RPE, retinal pigment epithelium. b, c Tracking of macrophages/monocytes (LysM^GFP) and neutrophils (LysM^GFP/Ly6G⁺) in the same eye of a LysM^GFP mouse within the damaged area. Magenta dashes outline retinal injury in reflectance (Ref.), while inserts correspond to the region delimited by a white box in reflectance. Inserts show the recruitment of innate immune cells in the injured site on days 1 and 7 by the NLF (Sup.) and the PR (Deep). Scale bar is 100 μm in reflectance images and 50 μm in the inserts. d Quantification of the number of macrophages/monocytes and neutrophils per lesion in the proximity of the superficial vasculature at baseline, days 0 (after injury), 1, 4, 7, 10, and 14. Significant differences (***p < 0.001 and ****p < 0.0001) between baseline and the different time points were determined by using a post-hoc Bonferroni one-way ANOVA test (n = 8). e Quantification of the number of macrophages/monocytes and neutrophils per lesion in the proximity of the deep vasculature network at baseline and at different time points after laser (Days 0, 1, 4, 7, 10 and 14). Significant differences (***p < 0.001 and ****p < 0.0001) between baseline and different time points were determined using a post-hoc Bonferroni one-way ANOVA test (n = 8)