Figure 2. Calcineurin activation caused neurofilament degeneration in retinal ganglion cell (RGC) dendrites. C57BL/6 mice were intravitreally injected with AAV carrying EGFP (control), HA-tagged full-length calcineurin (CaNwt), and HA-tagged cleaved calcineurin (CaNCA). The expression of transduced CaNwt and CaNCA was revealed by the antibody against their HA tag. RGC dendritic morphology was assessed with immunohistochemistry against SMI32. Seven weeks (A) and sixteen weeks (B) after injection, SMI32-IR was reduced in RGC dendrites in the CaNCA-expressing retinas at both time points, but not in the EGFP- or CaNwt-expressing retinas. The arrowheads point at the dendrites in EGFP- or CaNwt-expressing RGCs. No consistent difference was observed in SMI32-IR in RGC somas and axons. Scale bars are 50 µm.