Fig. 4

a Assay schematic for data in (b): 5 dpf NTR-rod larvae were exposed to 10 mM Mtz for 24 h and then separated into 5 groups, (1) “+Mtz”; (2) exposed to 2.5 μM free Dex from 6–9 dpf, “+Mtz, +Dex (soak)”; or injected at 6 dpf with either (3) 5 μM free Dex, “+Mtz, +Dex (inj)”; (4) 5 μM D-Dex, “+Mtz, +D-Dex (inj)”, or (5) dendrimers alone, “+Mtz, +Dendrimer (inj)”. At 9 dpf (4 dpa) NTR-YFP rod signal was quantified by plate reader assay. b Quantification of NTR-YFP signals at 9 dpf (4 dpa) to assess rod cell regeneration kinetics, n = 77, 58, 60, 44, and 28 larvae from left to right (*p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01, ****p ≤ 0.0001). c Representative sections from 8 dpf larvae treated with either 10 mM Mtz only from 5–6 dpf, D-Dex injection only at 6 dpf, or Mtz (5–6 dpf) followed by D-Dex injection at 6 dpf. Images show NTR:rod cells (yellow), DAPI (blue, nuclei), and immunostaining for PCNA (red, proliferating cells). d Quantification of PCNA+ cells (not counting the CMZ region), n = 8, 9, and 10 from left to right. e Representative sections from 10 dpf larvae treated with either 10 mM Mtz only from 5–6 dpf or Mtz followed by D-Dex injection at 6 dpf. Images show NTR:rod cells (yellow), DAPI (blue, nuclei) and immunostaining for BrdU (red, proliferating cells). f Quantification of NTR-YFP-expressing rod cells, n = 14 for each group. g Quantification of BrdU+ cells, n = 14 for each group (*p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01, ****p ≤ 0.0001, all others showed non-statistically significant differences).