Figure 2

Downregulation of Tfap2a and 2b expression in Ptf1a mutant retinas. (A) Expression plot shows a dramatic reduction of Tfap2a and 2b expression in the Ptf1a ^Cre/Cre retina compared to the wild type (WT), as measured by FPKM. (B) Semiquantitative RT-PCR assay reveals a great decrease of Tfap2a and 2b RNA levels in the null retina. Gapdh was used as an internal control to confirm that equal amount of cDNA was used for each sample. (C-J) Sections from E16.5 and P0 retinas of Ptf1a ^+/+ and Ptf1a ^cre/cre mice were immunostained with antibodies that react with both Tfap2a and 2b (C-F) or only Tfap2b (G-J), and weakly counterstained with DAPI. There is almost a complete loss of Tfap2-immunoreactive cells in Ptf1a ^cre/cre retinas. Abbreviations: INBL, inner neuroblastic layer; ONBL, outer neuroblastic layer. Scale bar: C-J, 25 μm.