Figure 6. Retinoic acid levels in whole eyes of Mitf^vit and C57BL/6 control mice

Whole eyes from Mitf^vit and C57BL/6 control mice were enucleated at 2, 4, and 10 weeks of age. Retinoic acids were extracted and analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC as described in Methods. For quantitative analysis of RA, external standard curves were generated using authentic 9-cis, 13-cis, and all-trans RA. Total RA is the sum of 9-cis, 13-cis, and all-trans RA. These data show no difference in the level of total RA in whole eyes of Mitf^vit and control mice at 2 and 4 weeks of age. At 10 weeks of age, however, total RA levels in whole eyes of Mitf^vit mice were elevated ~2.5 fold compared to eyes control mice.