Fig. 5

Loss of Cx43 in the brainstem following LPS-injection. Immunoblot analysis (blots and quantification diagrams) of Cx43 (a–c) and Cx47 (d–f) levels in brainstem lysates from groups (n = 4 per genotype and treatment group) of WT (a, d), Cx32 KO (b, e) and KO T55I (c, f) LPS or saline (S) injected mice, as indicated. All blots were re-probed for GAPDH for loading control and normalized bands were measured using Tinascan software. Compared to saline controls, Cx43 levels (specific band at 43 kDa) are reduced in the brainstem of LPS-injected Cx32 KO and KO T55I mice. In contrast, Cx47 levels do not show any significant changes in LPS treated mice in any of the genotypes (d, e, f) (*:p < 0.05, Student’s t-test). Real-time PCR analysis of Cx43 (g) and Cx47 (h) expression in LPS- compared to saline-treated mice shows a significant reduction of Cx43 expression in LPS injected tissues of KO and KO T55I groups, while the reduction in the WT group was non-significant. The KO T55I group showed the strongest reduction after LPS compared to the other genotypes. In contrast, Cx47 mRNA levels showed no significant changes in LPS-treated mice (Student’s-test, *:p < 0.05, **:p < 0.01, ***:p < 0.001, Bonferroni corrected)