Figure 3

Morphological and functional differences between C57BL/6N and C57BL/6J mice eyes. (A) Whereas white flecks were absent from C57BL/6J fundus, they were frequently detected in the ventral retina from C57BL/6N mice, with various degrees of severity, as illustrated here by three C57BL/6N fundus images. Depending on the investigating center, C57BL/6N mice with at least one eye affected represented 69.2% (n = 70 males + 34 females; ICS), 44.6% (n = 145 males + 158 females; GMC), or 23.0% (n = 184 males + 194 females; WTSI) of the population, whereas no flecking was detected in C57BL/6J mice (ICS: 29 males; GMC: 75 males + 75 females; WTSI: 34 males + 28 females). (B) Both vein and artery numbers differed from mouse to mouse in both strains, usually being between (left) three and (right) seven, with (middle) a mean of around five, as can be seen in three fundus images from C57BL/6J mice. (C) Quantification of veins and arteries in male C57BL/6N and C57BL/6J mice (n = 140 and n = 70 eyes, respectively). The mean number of veins per eye was 4.8 ± 0.1 for C57BL/6N (n = 122 eyes) versus 5.3 ± 0.1 for C57BL/6J mice (n = 138 eyes). Both differences were significant (P < 0.001, Mann-Whitney rank sum test).