In the present study, we examined developing postnatal and adult rat retinas by immunohistochemistry and western blot in order to identify the temporal and spatial onset of the expression of EPO and its presumptive regulating factors (HIF1-α and HIF2-α). In the adult the EPO was expressed in the photoreceptor inner segments, in the inner nuclear, ganglion (GCL), and both plexiform layers. At birth, we found strong immunoreactivities in the GCL and in the inner part of the neuroblast layer and weak staining in the outer part of the neuroblast layer. During the following days the immunoreactivity of the ganglion cells and presumptive amacrine cells became more prominent. From the middle of the fi rst week strongly stained horizontal cells were observed at the level of the separating OPL. The WB analysis resulted high protein levels in the developing retina samples and low protein amounts in the adult. Both hypoxia-induced factors showed similar expression pattern, being expressed in the inner retinal layers. At birth, only the HIF1-α was detectable. The HIF2-α was not detectable until the second half of the second postnatal week and its expression remained weak. The early appearance and distribution of the erythropoietin correlates in time with the main apoptotic processes of the postanatal rat retina. Since the EPO exerts neuroprotective properties in neural tissue, we hypothesize that it acts as a regulating factor during the retinal development.
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