Fig. 3: Knockdown of Porf-2 accelerates axon growth and growth cone formation in retinal explants.

A Diagram of the experimental design. B Representative microphotographs of retinal explants stained with anti-beta III tubulin (Tuj1) showing neurite growth in AAV2-shCtrl and AAV2-shPorf-2 groups. Scale bar, 100 μm. C Quantification of neurites counted at different distances from the edges of the explants in (B) (two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s multiple-comparisons test, p < 0.0001 at 50, 100, 200, and 300 μm from the edges of the explants; p < 0.05 at 400 μm from the edges of the explants; n = 5 mice in each group). D Representative confocal images of neurites at the end of an axon in retinal explants from AAV2-shCtrl and AAV2-shPorf-2 groups stained with AAV2-EGFP (green), phalloidin (red), and Tuj1 (gray). Scale bar, 5 μm. E Percentage of growth cone-forming neurites in retinal explants in D (Mann–Whitney test, p < 0.01; n = 6 mice in each group, six to eight growth cones were analyzed for each retinal explant). Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ****p < 0.0001. ns, not significant.