Fig. 1
Retinal pTau pathology in the retina non-injected TAU58 mice. Changes in pTauS202/T205 expression were observed predominantly in the central part of the mouse retina, specifically confined to the inner region. The first cytoplasmic pTau inclusions were observed in ganglion cells of six-month-old female TAU58 mice, affecting the GCL (a, b). These inclusions exhibited a Gallyas-positive fibrillar form (c). Additionally, phosphorylated Tau threads were identified within ganglion cell dendrites in the IPL and in the RNFL (d, e, g, h), showing no reactivity to Gallyas staining (f, i). The linear regression analysis revealed a significant association between pTau pathology (expressed as a percentage of affected retina length) and age (p < 0.0001, β = 0,920) (j). Representative images of retinal pTau changes in the peripheral (k-n) and central (o-r) regions of the retina across different age groups. Panels s-v show representative images of pTau changes in the optic nerve across the same age groups. Magnifications of panels b-c, e-f, and h-i are derived from panels a, d, and g, respectively. (6 months TAU58, n = 9; 9 months TAU58, n = 10; 12 months TAU58, n = 10; 15 months TAU58, n = 4). PRL = photoreceptor layer, ONL = outer nuclear layer; OPL = outer plexiform layer, INL = inner nuclear layer, IPL = inner plexiform layer, GCL = ganglion cell layer, RNFL = retinal nerve fiber layer