Figure 5

Nanoformulated NGF improves visual function impaired by oxidative stress in zebrafish larvae. (a) Experimental timeline relative to the intravitreal injection of free NGF or NGF bound to PNA-conjugated polyacrylamide nanoparticles (ANP:PNA:NGF) in zebrafish larvae at 4 days post-fertilisation (dpf), followed by H₂O₂ exposure to induce oxidative stress in the retina. As control, zebrafish larvae were IVT injected with DPBS. (b) Evaluation of visual function by OKR assay in zebrafish larvae exposed to the treatments shown in panel (a). n ≥ 39 larvae for each group, Kruskal–Wallis followed by Dunn’s multiple comparisons test. (c) Quantitative evaluation of apoptosis through the detection of active caspase 3 (Casp3)-positive cells by immunofluorescence in zebrafish larvae exposed to the treatments shown in panel (a). n ≥ 20 larvae for each group, one-way ANOVA using Dunnett’s multiple comparisons test. (b,c) ns, p > 0.05; *, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001 and ****, p < 0.0001.