Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 13 pp 17568—17591

Aging-dependent loss of GAP junction proteins Cx46 and Cx50 in the fiber cells of human and mouse lenses accounts for the diminished coupling conductance

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Figure 8. Age-dependent changes of Cx46 and Cx50 in both RIPA-soluble and RIPA-insoluble fractions of lens fiber cells of different age groups of C57BL/6J mice as determined by regular western blot analysis. (A) Western blot results of Cx46 and Cx50 in RIPA-soluble fraction of lens fibers of different age groups. Lanes 1–4 represent lens fiber samples from four 1M C57BL/6J mice, lanes 5–8 represent lens fiber samples from four 8M C57BL/6J mice, lanes 9–11 represent lens fiber samples from three 14M C57BL/6J mice. α-Actinin was showed as a loading control. (B) Quantification results show age-dependent changes of Cx46 and Cx50 in RIPA-soluble fraction of different age groups as determined in (A). (C) Western blot results of Cx46 and Cx50 in RIPA-insoluble fraction of lens fibers of different age groups. Lanes 1–4 represent lens fiber samples from four 1M C57BL/6J mice, lanes 5–8 represent lens fiber samples from four 8M C57BL/6J mice, lanes 9–11 represent lens fiber samples from three 14M C57BL/6J mice. α-Actinin was showed as a loading control. (D) Quantification results show age-dependent changes of the connexins Cx46 and Cx50 in RIPA-insoluble fraction of different age groups as determined in (C). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.