Eyeballs were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 2 hours, infiltrated with 30% sucrose overnight at 4°C, and then embedded in OCT. Eyeballs were continuously sectioned along the vertical meridian. Cryosections, including a full length of retina passing through the optic nerve head and the superior and inferior regions of the eye, were chosen for comparison among groups. Immunohistochemistry on cryosections that included DAPI-positive cells were performed to detect the differentiation of transplanted BMSCs. Cryosections were blocked with goat serum for 1 hour at 37°C and then incubated with primary antibodies for 24 hours at 4°C, followed by secondary antibodies for 1 hour at 37°C. Primary antibodies included rabbit polyclonal antibody against rat microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), bFGF, and BDNF and mouse monoclonal antibody against nestin, rhodopsin, calretinin, and CNTF.