Strain | GCL Neurons* | Total Axons** | Percent RGCs |
|---|
DBA/2J | 118416 ± 12313 | 72175 ± 17554 | 61.0 |
BALB/cByJ | 90788 ± 11200 | 54740 ± 8484 | 60.3 |
- A table showing the comparison of total neurons counted in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) and the percentage of this layer that are made up of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) in DBA/2J and BALB/cByJ mice. RGCs make up a similar percentage of the neurons present in this layer of both DBA/2J and BALB/cByJ mice (61% and 60.3%, respectively), which validates the methodology of quantifying cell loss as a percentage of the total number of neurons present in the GCL of each strain.
- *Neurons were identified from Nissl-stained whole mounts of untreated retinas and counted. A calculation was made of the neuron density/mm2 from a minimum of four 200× microscopic fields of at least 30 non-experimental retinas per strain. The total number of neurons was then calculated by multiplying the density by the total retinal area measured in the whole mounts using Image Pro software.
- **Axon counts were generated from a minimum of three 1000× fields per section (3 sections per nerve) of 5 individual optic nerves per strain. The density of the axons was then calculated and total axon number was determined by multiplying the density by the total nerve area measured in the section using Image Pro software.
