MSC transplantation increased RGC survival 28 days after optic nerve crush.

A-C: Confocal images of flat-mounted retinas labeled with Tuj1 antibody (A-C). D-F: Photomontage of confocal images of flat-mounted retinas labeled with Brn3a antibody. A, D: Control retina (contralateral eye). B, E: Twenty-eight days after optic nerve injury, there was a large reduction in the number of RGCs, and axon bundles were thinner (arrows in B) in the vehicle-treated group compared to control. C, F: In MSC-injected animals, the number of surviving RGCs increased compared to vehicle-injected animals, and axon bundles were similar to control (arrows in C). G-J: Quantification of RGC survival 28 days after nerve crush at 1.0 mm or 3.5 mm from the optic disc, using Tuj1 (G, H) or Brn3a labeling (I, J). Results are displayed as mean ± SEM of the percentage of Tuj1+ or Brn3a+ cells relative to the control retina (contralateral ye). *P<0.05; **P<0.01; ***P<0.001. Scale bar: 50 µm (A-C); 500 µm (D-F).