Molecular Vision: Zhang, Mol Vis 2014; 20:56-72. Table 2

Table 2. Morphometric analyses of melanosomes in WT and smarca4 RPE.

Measurement	WT dorsal RPE (µ±s)	WT ventral RPE (µ±s)	smarca4 dorsal RPE (µ±s)	smarca4 ventral RPE ( x - ±s)	Figure and Data analysis
Number of melanosomes/ RPE cell area (μm⁻²)	1.92±0.24	1.36±0.15	1.27±0.14	0.80±0.41	Figure 3B and Appendix 1
Apical/basal ratio	1.46±0.13	1.78±0.18	1.92±0.25	2.77±1.87	Figure 3C and Appendix 2
Roundness (1=round, 0=elongated)	0.81±0.16	0.79±0.18	0.80±0.17	0.80±0.16	Figure 3D and Appendix 3
Area (μm⁻²)	0.14±0.09	0.12±0.09	0.12±0.10	0.13±0.09	Figure 3E and Appendix 4

The four measurements that were analyzed are: number of melanosomes/RPE area, apical/basal ratio, roundness and area. The apical/basal ratio was used to evaluate the distribution of melanosomes inside the RPE cells. The center of the flattened nuclei was used to demarcate the apical and basal side of the RPE cell. Then, the position of the melanosome was scored. The roundness is a measure to evaluate the maturity of the individual melanosomes as the mature ones tend to be ellipsoidal in shape while the immature ones are more circular. Furthermore, the size of the individual melanosome was also evaluated by area measurement. The analysis was also independently done on RPE dorsal and ventral to the optic nerve. The numbers presented are in the format of mean±standard deviation (µ±s). The corresponding plots and data analysis outputs are shown in Figure 3B-D and Appendix 1- Appendix 4 respectively. In summary, there was a reduction in the number of melanosome, an apical bias and a small reduction in area in the smarca4 RPE. These observations suggest that the melanogenesis was impaired in the smarca4 RPE.