Fig. 2

Representative images of isolated retinal astrocytes after pull-off. A: The pull-off captures astrocytes from across the vitreoretinal surface, forming a thin visible layer on the coverslip, viewed here through a dissection microscope. B: Pull-off preserves much of the morphology of retinal astrocytes as can be seen in brightfield with phase contrast. Scale bar = 50 µm. C–E′: Images of whole mounted retina showing astrocytes (C) and overall cell density (D) in the nerve fiber and retinal ganglion cell layers of the intact retina before pull-off. Merged Hoechst and GFAP immunostaining shown in E, with a higher magnification inset (E′). Scale bar in all panels = 100 µm. F–H′: Pull-off results in large scale isolation of astrocytes (F) and major reductions in the number of other cells (G), with combined immunostaining shown in (H) and a higher magnification inset (H′). Scale bar in all panels = 100 µm